Becoming a Sustainable Craft Brewer – Nice to Do or Business Imperative?

Join the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) for this free program. Register for the webinar or attend in-person at ISTC, 1 Hazelwood Drive, Champaign, IL

John Stier, Sustainability Mentor for the Brewers Association, will share over 35 years of brewery experience to explore the topic of sustainability in the craft brewing sector. The presentation will walk through the potential paths of making a craft brewer more sustainable and answer the question “I am so busy, why should I care?” Is sustainability a “green marketing” approach that should be done as time allows or is it a business imperative that should be integrated from day one?

We will examine some common misconceptions about sustainability, review a metric based scenario planning approach built upon sound business principles, walk through a fictitious craft brewery trying to become more sustainable, identify helpful tools available through the Brewers Association website and provide insights into how to use the power of data to drive financial profitability and environmental/community responsibility.

At the completion of this session, you will have a better understanding of why sustainable brewing is not only good for your business, the environment and the local community, but is a basic expectation of most consumers in the age demographic you are trying to attract.