The Netherlands: Heineken switches to 100% green energy for brewing in the Netherlands

Heineken has switched to 100% green energy since July of this year for brewing beer sold in the Dutch market, the company has announced.

This is a major step for Heineken given that it has pledged to go climate neutral by 2030.

Hans Böhm, managing director Heineken Netherlands, commented, “I am proud to say that since last month we have been brewing our Heineken for Dutch consumers using 100% green energy.

“This applies to all product and packaging variants covered by the Heineken brand in the Dutch market, including Heineken 0.0."

Since 2010, Heineken has been working on its ‘Brewing a Better World’ initiative and has implemented several measures to reduce CO2 emissions in its breweries.

The company has installed wind turbines and solar panels to generate green energy.

In 2018, it initiated the production of biogas to supplement its energy requirements.

Biogas is produced from the wastewater of the breweries in Zoeterwoude and Den Bosch and supplemented with biogas from waste purification at the water board.

Böhm added, “We consider green energy to be an indispensable new ingredient in our Heineken beer. Wind and sun are just as important as hops, water and yeast.

"The use of sustainable energy literally makes Heineken even greener. The next step is to make our packaging materials more sustainable in the short term and to further close the material cycle in the Netherlands.”

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