Danish brewer Carlsberg Group has set its sights on regenerative farming. Three of the company’s brands in the UK, France and Finland are part of the journey towards 100% regenerative agricultural practices by 2040, according to a release.
The commitments from these brands are a part of Carlsberg’s ZERO Farming Footprint ambition and their other recently launched programme, Together Towards Zero and Beyond. The commitment aims to source 30% of all agricultural raw materials from regenerative practices and sustainable sources globally by 2030, reaching 100% by 2040. According to the release, the goal is to “promote biodiversity, restore soil health and support natural carbon capture, regenerative agriculture is an important part of the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss.”
Considering the “farm to bottle” process, the three countries are engaging in the following:
- In the UK, Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC) has committed to 100% regenerative barley for Carlsberg Danish Pilsner by 2027, and for all UK brands by 2031.
- In Finland, partner farmers are supplying regenerative barley to Sinebrychoff, a Carlsberg Group company, for its annual KOFF Christmas Beer, while actively promoting regenerative farming among Finnish barley farmers.
- In France, Kronenbourg SAS already has 45 partner farmers supplying traceable ‘Responsible Barley’, and the 1664 brand has committed to use this for 100% of the barley in its Blonde brews by 2026. As a brand holding 10% of the French beer market, 1664 will help to pivot the local industry in a new direction.
“We cannot reach our targets alone. Partnerships are vital across the value chain, which is why we are collaborating closely with local farmers, traders, maltsters, agronomists and NGOs who provide expertise in the transition to regeneratively grown barley,” said Simon Boas Hoffmeyer, Senior Director of Sustainability & ESG for Carlsberg Group. “Over time this will allow us to offer our consumers and customers lower-carbon beers and contribute to improving the ecosystems we rely on. We will cooperate with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that we as a company and our industry as a whole, strives towards a ZERO Farming Footprint.”
United Kingdom
In the UK, the release states that in starting the transition towards 100% regenerative barley in the UK, CMBC and the Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM) have contracted the first 23 farmers to grow an estimated 7,000 tonnes of regenerative barley during 2023.
“ADM is delighted to be supporting this exciting project as further evidence of how we work with farmers, here in the UK and around the world, to expand regenerative agriculture as part of our collective endeavour to reduce carbon and make our food system more sustainable,” said Jonathan Lane, Managing Director UK at ADM.
Finland
The Baltic Sea Action Group (BSAG) works as a matchmaker between regenerative farmers, scientists and the wider value chain through its Carbon Action platform, resulting in Finland’s oldest and most popular Christmas beer being brewed with malted barley from two regenerative farms in 2022.
“Our farm is one of a hundred Carbon Action farms in Finland,” said Sirkku Puumala, a Finnish farmer supplying regenerative barley for KOFF Christmas Beer. “On the Carbon Action platform, farmers and researchers share their experiences and know-how on regenerative farming. It is also important to us that those who buy our raw materials share our values and that all actors in the chain participate in the environmental work carried out together.”
France
In France, the Group’s Kronenbourg 1664 brand has partnered with Malteries Soufflet and Soufflet Agriculture of InVivo Group to create the first traceable ‘Responsible Barley’ supply chain in the country. Their goal is that “Kronenbourg 1664 Blonde will be brewed with 100% barley malt sourced from this new agricultural value chain, with 250 partner farmers producing 5,000 hectares of responsibly sourced barley that is traceable using blockchain technology.”
“We are very happy to work with Kronenbourg SAS in this value chain approach, which promotes good agroecological practices,” said Guillaume Couture, CEO of Malteries Soufflet. “As a committed maltster partner, Malteries Soufflet has always been deeply concerned about the challenges of all stakeholders, from farmers to consumers. Therefore, we support the produce of farmers while developing sustainable practices, in order to continuously improve our response to customer expectations.”
Carlsberg Group is actively committed to global collaboration through its new membership in the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform (SAI Platform), created to actively promote and support the worldwide development of sustainable agriculture.
