Ecofriendly Beer Company New Belgium: Brewing Sustainable and Delicious Ale

New Belgium ecofriendly beer company is a conscious business worth talking about.  Why?  Because not only do they have the triple bottom line approach down packed, they are having some tasty fun while they are it.

It is a recipe for success that merits popping open one of their ice-cold brewskis and celebrating!

Ecofriendly Beer:  Brewing Consciousness into the Bottom Line

New Belgium is clearly a company with a lot of heart and it shows in every area of their operations.  First and foremost, New Belgium is brewing some delicious brews.

Beer names such as La Folie, Skinny Dip, Organic Mothership Wit and Frambozen Raspberry Brown Ale might make you think otherwise, but these guys have deep affection and respect for brewing.  And their enthusiasm becomes transparent in the flavor and large loyal fan base of this Colorado based brewery.

Their most popular beer is Fat Tire, an amber ale conceptualized after a co-founder’s bicycle trip that took him from brewery to brewery in Belgium. From shiny new bicycles to classic old cruisers, today, you can see bikes all around the New Belgium brewery; on their labels as part of their marketing, as décor around the factory, as annual gifts to all their employees and as part of the sustainable culture they are committed to promoting.

Conscious Business is Good Business

In addition to delicious ales and quirky bike-centered advertisings, the joyful spirit behind New Belgium shines through into basically every other area of their operations.  And this is precisely why New Belgium was voted #1 place to work in America in 2008 by Outside Magazine (Google was 2nd).

For the employees, a relaxed honor-code atmosphere allows for plenty of room and time to do on-site wall climbing, yoga classes, or ridding on the cyclocross track in their 50 acres out back.  Plus each new year that New Belgium employees are with the company they receive a brand new bike and ownership in the company.  These demonstrations of appreciate result in a work atmosphere that feels less like work and more like play.

But the work environment is not the only one to benefit from New Belgium’s conscious business practices.  The global environment is benefiting a lot as well.  This ecofriendly beer company is taking sustainability where no brewery has gone before.

In 2007, the brewery figured out what the carbon footprint was for a six pack.  And while they use sometimes up to half the amount of water most breweries use in their brewing process, they were still shocked (and honest enough to admit) that the footprint of a six pack was about equal to the emissions from driving a car one mile.  While this is mostly due to emissions from in-store refrigeration, New Belgium has committed to reducing their own carbon emissions by 25% by 2015.

Another one of their sustainability goals is to become entirely wind-powered. Until that goal is reached, the brewery pays their local utilities company an increased rate for energy to ensure it comes from the cleanest source possible. Also, about 10% of their power is being derived from byproducts from their on-site water treatment plant such as methane gas.  This is beyond sustainable, it is regenerative.

And the Party Doesn’t Stop There

New Belgium is looking to spread the news about biking and sustainability outside their Colorado home and they do this via their annual pro-bike tour, Tour de Fat. These spirited events take place in various large cities around the West in order to promote bike riding and sustainability.  They include music, circus-type performances, bicycle dance troupes, a giant group bike ride/parade where everyone dresses up in costumes and rides through town and of course, lots of New Belgium beer.

Truly, these guys are having fun while loving people, their employees and the planet (and their bank account must not be doing too shabby either).  And so while beers may be known to help some take it easy and relax, we feel it is spirit such as the conscious business spirit behind by this one of a kind ecofriendly beer company that really make for a good time!

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