One drop, a dripping faucet,
a welcome downpour, or
devastating storm, water
is essential to life on earth
in the physical as well as
the spiritual sense. Whether
a trickle or a torrent, where
would we be without it?
Water reduction
THE WORLD OF HEINEKEN
consumable for cleaning tanks, packaging, production equipment and pipe
work, and in malting, for steeping and germinating barley.
In 1999 Heineken initiated a move towards sustainable water use in all
of the countries it operates in. The Aware of Water programme set a ceiling
of seven hectolitres of water use for every hectolitre of beer produced.
Paul Bruijn, Safety Health Environment Specialist, Heineken Group
Supply commented, "Controlling our water usage in the production process
means product quality. There is also the economic factor of efficiently
managing both water and energy consumption for lower costs and the win-
win aspect of environmentally responsible awareness. In Africa, Aware of
Water t-shirts were given to the water team and consequently conservation
concepts were carried from the production floor to the home."
Production units draw most of their water from public utilities or their
own boreholes; surface water is used to a minor extent. One brewery—in
the Bahamas—uses purified sea water. Every two years Heineken conducts
a survey into the availability and quality of the water it uses, analysing it
according to EU and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. A recent
survey showed that although in some locations, incoming water was
contaminated with heavy metals or solvents, these were completely
removed by Heineken's water treatment processes.
Pjotr van Oeveren, Environmental Policy Manager for Heineken, takes water
seriously. "Beer is 92% water, so it is an important ingredient. In order to
make good beer, water needs a certain hardness, containing a percentage
of magnesium and calcium. We are able to adjust this to a constant quality
for our brewer's water." The water used is ultimately discharged as
wastewater. More than two thirds of all Heineken's production units already
treat their waste prior to discharge, either in their own on-site or municipal
plants. "By 2012 we plan to have waste water purification facilities in all of
our breweries. Actually you pay for water twice," he commented, "when it
comes into the plant and when it goes out."
In 1999, the Shanghai Asia Pacific Brewery in China was using more than
nine litres of water to produce one litre of beer. Old and defective
equipment and lack of waste water re-use facilities were to blame. Data
from new metres revealed that pipes underneath the brewery were
corroded and leaking huge amounts. Installation of a new above-ground
piping system helped the brewery reduce its annual water consumption by
51,000 cubic metres—enough to meet the yearly needs of 1,000 people.
Another 41,000 cubic metres were saved annually when caustic waste
water was used instead of potable water to scrub sulphur dioxide from the
boilers. Computerising the regulation of the waste water plant slashed an
additional 48,000 cubic metres each year.
New technology helps, but involving all the breweries' employees via
workshops and awareness-raising allowed everyone to optimise their water
usage. The Shanghai brewery now produces 40% more beer than it did in
1999 and uses 40% less water, down to five litres of water per litre of beer.
Thanks to a similar range of measures introduced in newly upgraded
facilities in the Africas, Eastern European and Asian regions, Heineken has
more than met its Aware of Water targets.
Pjotr van Oeveren is proud of Heineken's success. "Within a three year
period, we have accomplished a 38% savings in Africa. During the World
Water Forum in 2000, Heineken presented practical advice to the Dutch
government showing how relatively small investments could realise
significant results in reducing water consumption. We have now achieved
a ratio of 3,5 litres of water used per litre of beer in Ireland and Austria,
more proof that even better efficiency is possible."
In its pure or brewed form, water is a wonderfully miraculous substance. So
keep that in mind the next time you run the tap, take a sip, or you curse
being caught in the rain. There is literally no substitute.
