People often make the mistake of equating sustainability with buying expensive equipment, thus leaving it largely out of reach for small- and mid-sized breweries. This is simply not the case. Although it would be ideal if every brewery was able to purchase a CO₂ recovery system or wastewater treatment system, the reality is that a lot can happen before getting to that place. There are many simple ways to save resources, regardless of brewery size, leading to a more profitable and environmentally friendly operation.

In this seminar, you will learn a new way to think about how resource optimization impacts the bottom line and simple ways to get the most out of available resources. These include ways to save time, water, chemicals, electricity, natural gas, propane, and CO₂, and improve wastewater management. You’ll walk away with several action items you can implement with minimal effort.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the true cost of making beer inefficiently, including the sales necessary to fill the gap
• Get to know the benefits of implementing simple process changes that positively impact the bottom line and the environment
• Recognize specific opportunities that exist to reduce environmental impacts and save money, without investing large amounts of capital

About the Speakers

Luke Truman, Sustainability Coordinator for the Craft Beverage Sector

New England Environmental Finance Center

Luke Truman (he/him) serves as sustainability coordinator for the Craft Beverage Sector at the New England Environmental Finance Center, University of Southern Maine. He provides technical assistance to the craft beverage sector with a focus on environmentally responsible operations. He has over 10 years of experience at a single brewery realizing years of double-digit growth, major expansions, and a multitude of minor expansions, equipment upgrades, and process improvements. Luke has worked in every facet of the process from farming to manufacturing to distributing to serving, with facilities management his most recent role. Before joining the Maine Craft Beverage Program, he worked at Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, Maine.

Vesela Veleva, Senior Lecturer and MBA Program Director

University of Massachusetts, Boston

Vesela Veleva is the senior lecturer and MBA program director at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. She is also co-director of the Center for Sustainable Enterprise and Regional Competitiveness. Vesela has over 20 years of experience working with small and large companies to help them advance environmental and sustainability strategies. She is currently leading a two-year, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-funded program aiming to provide pollution prevention technical assistance to Massachusetts craft breweries. Vesela has published more than 20 peer-reviewed journal articles, numerous business cases, and a book, Business, Environment and Society: Themes and Cases (Baywood Publishing, 2014). She has a doctorate in cleaner production and pollution prevention from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, a Master's in pollution and environmental control from the University of Manchester, United Kingdom, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the Technical University of Varna, Bulgaria.