Life cycle assesments demonstrate impacts of products

In the last column, we looked at the brewing process of beer and how yeast dies from it’s own toxic waste. This week we take a closer look at the life cycle assessment of beer.

Lately it has become important for us to become aware of the impacts of our purchasing decisions on the economy, the environment and our energy use. We have the opportunity to make well informed choices. One means of understanding the impacts of our choices is through what is called a “Life Cycle Assessment.”

A life cycle begins with the extraction of raw materials from the ground to generate energy as well as the materials used in production. Then these materials are transported, manufactured, packaged, consumed, recycled and eventually disposed. A life cycle assessment or LCA report for a particular product can be many hundreds of pages and cost thousands of dollars to compile.

In February 2007, an LCA case study was performed to understand the environmental impacts on the life cycle of a lager beer produced by a small Italian Brewery. The brewery is in northern Italy near the Austrian border and for a time during the last 200 years was under the control of Austria.

An LCA of ordinary and everyday activities such as drinking a beer can help us understand the consequences of such activities. The report follows all aspects of beer production, starting with barley cultivation and ending with packaging and disposal. The conclusions are interesting, although not surprising.

The report investigated two packaging options: Beer in a 20 liter stainless steel keg and 33 centiliter glass bottles, which is nearly equivalent to our 12-ounce bottles.

The report shows that although the growing of the barley has significant impacts, the actual brewing of the beer is fairly environmentally benign. However, the serious environmental impact occurs when the drinker gets the beer, how it is served and how it is chilled.

Their recommendation for the most effective way of reducing environmental impacts of beer is by promoting draft beer. This is due to the intense energy load for the production, packaging, transport and then the return of the empty bottles. And it’s why the term “reduce, reuse, recycle” has recycle as the last option. Recycling all those empty bottles is energy intensive – so if you order a draft beer, you just reduced 68 percent of the environmental load as compared to the bottled beer.

Beer is a healthy and ancient beverage and has been a staple for humans for thousands of years. We can minimize the impact if we organize our beer consumption to include walking to the local pub, ordering a draft beer from a local brewery and enjoying the toxic discharge of our favorite and least understood organism: Our friend, the yeast.

Rob Hothan is a property manager, certified Energy Star contractor and developer who lives part-time in Rocky Mount. He has made many mistakes and therefore has much to share. He has a master’s degree in Energy Management and an advanced certificate in environmental technology.