DraughtMaster™

Projects

BUDGET / COST OF THE PROJECT:
33,3 mln € in Carlsberg Italia (2011-2017) to rent draught beer equipment for free to Outlets (bars, pubs, restaurants)

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

The Carlsberg Group has committed to eliminating carbon emissions and halving water usage at its Breweries by 2030 as part of its new sustainability programme – Together Towards ZERO, a response to increase consumer demand for sustainable products in a time of global challenges such as climate change, water scarcity and public health issues (ZERO carbon footprint, ZERO water waste, ZERO irresponsible drinking and a ZERO accidents culture) in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (www.carlsberggroup.com/sustainability).

Carlsberg Italia – Italian Subsidiary of Carlsberg Group – is working hard to manage the risks posed by climate change. As for consumption, we are promoting the use of the innovative DraughtMaster™ draught beer system, which uses PET kegs.
DraughtMaster™ significantly improves our environmental sustainability, with fewer emissions than the traditional supply
cycle with steel kegs. Moreover, it also increases the social sustainability of beer consumption.
DraughtMaster™ allows us to dramatically reduce the use of glass bottles, which are a potential danger for security, especially in summer and outdoors, as proven by the decrees of several municipalities, which forbid their sale and consumption outside pubs.
Innovation and Sustainability are integrated in Carlsberg Italia’s identity, as a synthesis of our founders’ values. By matching our
brewing tradition with our constant search for innovation, we created a unique model of sustainability in the brewing industry:
DraughtMaster™ draught beer system, which combines high-quality beer with a low environmental impact.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES AND SPECIFIC INTERVENTIONS:

DraughtMaster™ – as mentioned above – is the sustainable draught beer system based on PET kegs (vs traditional steel kegs).

The main benefits are beer quality, freshness, only natural carbonation (no added CO2) for Consumers; cost efficiency, longer product shelf life, wider assortment (for Customers) and sustainability (1st Brewery in the world to get EPD certification based on DraughtMaster™, www.environdec.com) for Society.

The innovation was born at Carlsberg Research Center in Copenhagen, but the effective roll out has been driven by
Carlsberg Italia.
More than 25.000 Outlet in Italy have now this Technology, available in 3 different versions: Modular 20, Flex 20, Select 10.
The use of this system is now exported to other Markets, i.e. Denmark, Greece, UK, Switzerland, Poland, Germany, France, Belgium, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Portugal, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Croatia, Hungary, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Nepal, South Corea and some other new Markets will enter in 2018.

The main features of DraughtMasterTM are: 1) disposable PET kegs, handy and light; 2) draught beer system with compressed air; 3) 100% natural product without added CO2 ; 4) less bloating thanks to the absence of added CO2 ; 5) beer fresh and crispy as just produced at the Brewery; 6) perfect and compact foam; 7) significantly lower environmental impact (LCA); 8) automatic cleaning; 9) wide range of beers; 10) Keg shelf life (9 months before opening, 31 days after opening).

The main advantages of DraughtMasterTM are: 1) increased consumption because our beer without added CO2 does not cause the bloating feeling; 2) more customer loyalty; 3) more profitability (more Specialties & Craft due to the better shelf life); 4) less bulky kegs, easier to stock; 5) no more space needed for the stocking of empty kegs and CO2 tanks; 6) no risk of running out of CO2 ; 7) no need to manage the saturation level; 8) elimination of some of the infection risk sources for the tap system; 9) no need to buy CO2 bottles; 10) no need for a deposit for kegs and CO2 bottles; 11) no beer is wasted (e.g. when changing keg or during cleaning); 12) no waste of beer due to expired/old products.

The DraughtMaster™ Project has led us to a challenge never tackled before by any Brewery at International level: the Life Cycle Assessment for beer (LCA).
We went through the process (with the fundamental help of IEFE, the Center for Research on Energy and Environmental Economics and Policy of Bocconi University, one of the leading Universities in Italy and Europe) and got thus to be the 1st Brewery in the world to get EPD certification for our products and therefore we set the PCR after the requested Open Consultation.

LCA analysis allowed us to understand its remarkable sustainability level. The beer is stored in recyclable PET kegs (no more traditional steel kegs!). The beer is tapped out of the PET kegs without adding any CO2, thanks to simple air compression. With this system, the quality of the beer remains unaltered for 31 days from the keg opening (compared to 5 days for steel kegs).
The environmental impact of PET kegs is significantly lower than the impact of steel kegs, cans and glass bottles.

ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL PROJECT OUTCOMES:
Today PET kegs are considered the point of reference in the draft beer segment.
The advantages of DraughtMasterTM are now clear compared both to steel kegs and also to glass bottles, in terms of product quality, of the product, lower environmental impact and respect of the urban decorum.
Logistics’ figures also confirm DraughtMasterTM sustainability (the transportation of 100 liters of beer means 106 kg. of total weight in PET kegs versus 165 kg. in 33 cl. glass bottles).

Assuming to extend the LCA analysis of DraughtMasterTM in Favignana Island these are the outcomes:

1. Description of the content of the study
This LCA study in Favignana scenario was prepared on the basis of verified data included in the certified Environmental Product Declarations (EPD®) published in the Environdec.com website within the International EPD System. The EPD dataset has been integrated with Company specific data obtained for supporting study carried out by Carlsberg within the Product Environmental Footprint Pilot.
The scope of the study is to compare 4 alternative scenarios (steel kegs, PET kegs, 33 cl. Bottles, 33 cl. cans) for the life cycle of beer delivered and consumed in Favignana Island. The life cycle of beer runs from the processing and transport of the raw materials, through the brewing and till the use phase. Outbound logistics for the distribution of beer as well as the packaging production and packaging end of life were also accounted for.
The data was based on 2015 Industry data from Carlsberg Italia spa, including raw materials, energy and water consumption for brewing processes and packaging operations at Brewery, inbound and outbound logistics, packaging materials and waste streams.

2. Description of main assumptions
The comparison lies on the following assumptions: A) all beer delivered and consumed in Favignana is produced at Induno Olona Brewery (VA, North of Italy); B) all beer is delivered to Favignana by truck > 32 t load capacity (for the distance from Induno Olona to Trapani port, 1.328 km), by van < 7 t load capacity (5 km, for the distance covered inside Favignana Island) and by ship (29 km for the distance from Calabria to Sicily and from Trapani to Favignana); C) all beer consumed in Favignana is cooled; D) all exhausted packaging type is sent from Favignana to a collection point in Sicily, by means of municipal waste collection vehicle (25 km for the distance to the hypothetical collection centre) and ship (21 km for the distance from Favignana to Trapani); 1,12% of the total amount of steel kegs are replaced by new kegs.

3. Description of the results of the study
The following table and graphic show the results for the main impact categories included in the EPD system: climate change (global warming potential); acidification; photochemical ozone formation; eutrophication; water resource use.

From the above figures it appears clearly that:
•PET keg is the most environmental friendly scenario for all the considered impact categories
•One way glass bottle, on the contrary, shows the worst results for the environmental footprint.