Non-fossil carbon cycle
TA R G ETS
by-products, income from waste and income from subsidies. Only capital expenditure
intended exclusively for environmental purposes is recognised as environmental
investment. A proposal is currently being prepared for implementing these definitions
within our financial systems. After approval, it will take some time to make the
necessary changes to the systems at our breweries.
4.6 Carbon dioxide emissions
The rising concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is one of the causes of
the greenhouse effect and is held to be largely responsible for the climatic changes we
have witnessed in the past fifty years, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change. Heineken is including information on carbon dioxide emissions for the
first time in this report.
CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS
Carbon dioxide is emitted at vari
ous stages in the beer production
process. Malt sugars are converted
into alcohol and CO2 during fer
mentation, for example, but this
does not contribute to the green
house effect because it is a short-
cycle process: the CO2 generated
during fermentation is extracted
from the atmosphere at a similar
rate by the barley as it grows. This
is in contrast to burning fossil fuel,
which releases over a short period
CO2 which has been locked up in
the fuel for millions of years.
Carbon dioxide is released when fossil fuels are burned. Heineken uses fossil fuels
mainly for heating and, in some of our breweries, for electricity generation. Internal
transport accounts for a small proportion of our fuel consumption. The reported figures
do not include emissions due to activities outside Heineken locations, for example in
external transport, nor emissions of short-cycle carbon dioxide (see panel above).
Atmosphere
Oxygen
Carbon dioxide
Growing barley
Fermentation
Consumption
Photosynthesis
Malt sugars alcohol carbon dioxide
Metabolism
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