Benefits Of Ecotourism: New Belgium

In a world where large, corporate breweries rule the market, craft beer is created to please an audience that applauds the styles, techniques and flavors. Though craft beer can be purchased through several different outlets, the best place to thoroughly enjoy the entire experience of the specially made beer is in the brewery where it was made. The article titled, “In Lean Times, a Stout Dream” in The Wall Street Journal1 states that, despite the hard economic times and consequent consumer cutbacks, sales of craft beer, the industry 's fastest-growing segment, rose

Consumer demand for robust ale was not being fulfilled with the current beers on the market. In 1991 Jeff Lebesch and his wife Kim started the company out of their basement. They focused on the rich flavor and unique concept. Their focus on social and environmental responsibility has set them apart from brewing companies on the market. Jeff and his wife wanted to promote a product while being innovative and socially responsible. They designed their core values and mission statement while hiking in a national park (Ferrell, 2010). In addition they wanted to promote the brand and corporate citizenship (Ferrell, 2010). Although the product is alcohol they encourage consumers to be responsible. Also, they have sponsored events, dinners and philanthropic causes to help gain consumer loyalty. In 2013, USA named NBB as 6 out of 15 best brewing companies (Franklin, 2013). Also, the company has increased is competitive advantage with is stance on environmental conscience brewing. They were the first brewery to utilize wind power generator, even with an increase cost of .025 per kilowatt (Asher, Bidner and Greene, 2003). Also, they utilize light tunnels, windows and recycled steam to reduce their carbon footprint (Gorski, 2013). In 2002 NBB participated in the LEED-EB pilot program (Ferrell, 2010). Furthermore, the company donates $1 for every barrel of beer sold to each of the 26 states territories and distributed $700,000 in 2012 (What we are about, 2013). Despite

DesJardins, (2007) discusses that a new paradigm is needed to re-conceptualize how businesses practice. He further states that a large a large portion of the world lacks the basic rights of clean waters,

Although some individuals or groups would argue that a brewing company cannot be socially responsible due to the nature of their product. Ultimately, their “to do” list will never end, and no matter how much they give back or enhance their operations to be more environmentally friendly, it will never be enough.

The New Belgium Brewing Company strives to reduce its impact on the environment by doing multiple things. First, the company has implemented a number of cost-efficient and energy-saving alternatives. According to the company, 100% of the electricity that they use are through renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. They incorporated sun tubes that help to light the brew house with natural daylight. Also, the company became the country’s first brewery to create 100% of its electricity from wind power in 1999 in

New Belgium’s focus on environmental responsibilities is a benefit that enhances the profits of the company. The company has been successful while keeping sustainability and environmental responsibility at the forefront of their strategic planning process. In 2012 the company decided to spread its wings by choosing a second home in North Carolina. New Belgium brewery invests in efficient equipment most notably their brew kettle, which heats thin sheets of wort rather than the whole kettle and stores steam and vapor that allows the wort to heat at a quickened pace reducing the amount of primary energy used. The company’s energy conservation efforts do not stop there; their site claims that “the most sustainable watt is the watt never used” (New

New Belgium Brewing strives to reduce it’s impact on the environment. NBB invested in a wind turbine, making it the first fully wind powered brewery in the United States. NBB has also incorporated a steam condenser that captures and reuses hot

New Belgium brewery has increasingly grew throughout the years since their development in 1991. Despite the dominance of the “Big Three” (Budweiser, Miller, and Coors), NBB needs to be aggressive and strive to invest in the attractive beer industry in able to grow more. If positioned correctly, NBB and its main brand, Fat Tire, can continually grow. An evaluation of the industry, the business itself, its brands, and the customers and competitors is needed in order to be continuously successful.

1. What environmental issues does the new belgium brewing company work to address? How does NBB taken a strategic approach to addressing these issues? Why do you think the company has taken such a strong stance toward sustainability?

The company chosen to evaluate is New Belgium Brewery Company (NBBC) headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado. NBBC was built upon core values and beliefs of environmental stewardship; social responsibility and a culture that gives back to the community, Mother Earth and their employees. As stated on the companies website, NBBC’s mission statement is “To manifest our love and talent by crafting our customers’ favorite brands and proving business can be a force for good” ("New Belgium Brewing purpose statement," 2016, para. 4). Founders, Jeff Lebesch and Kim Jordan created a high involvement culture through creativity, diversity and innovation.

Through their brand recognition, New Belgium Brewery has won the beer battle between most of their competitors. Beer connoisseurs know New Belgium Brewery by their infamous New Belgium Fat Tire. Fat Tire has helped New Belgium gain a competitive advantage because of the beers high demand. Also, New Belgium’s social responsibility is a major part of why they obtain the competitive advantage over their competitors. New Belgium is a simple company that portrays an economical friendly production, a strong family back- round, and consumer-based market strategy. New Belgium focuses on three responsibilities, social responsibility, employee responsibility, and environmental responsibility. Also, because of their focuses, they have become one of the top competitors to other craft beer

The recommendation provided to New Belgium is to hone in on the above mentioned environments. The Company, partakes in 1% for the planet, it once invested in wind turbine for their brewery. In fact the Company is the first to have a fully wind-powered brewery. The Company should look in other environmental savvy ways to invest funds, for insistence the growing trend of hybrid/electric. By using these technologies for transportation of their products as they continually expand. The Company can seek out strategic partnerships with other breweries in the areas of proposed expansion and “prototype” their product. In addition analyzing the competitors and customers. New Belgium should continue to make full use of marketing campaigns (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) as there is an increase cultural

Being that NBB is an environmental enthusiast, the company has chosen to focus on environmental issues and have become nationally known as a “paradigm of environmental efficiencies.” NBB’s sole purpose and core belief is linked to their marketing strategy in which they associate the quality of their products as well as their brand name with the company’s theory toward affecting the planet. The dedication to the environment was exhibited in their mission statement “To operate a profitable table brewery which makes our love and talent manifest.” NBB stated that in every aspect of production either compilation or distribution had to be environmentally efficient. (Drever; Haiar, 2006)

In the current day and age, environmental issues are beginning to be considered more frequently in business decision and in governmental policy. The current threat of global warming, sea level rise, ocean acidification, and extinction of species highlight the consequences of not being environmentally aware. Even the smallest “green” decisions like choosing to car-pool or to recycle can be decisions that have a huge impact that positively effects the environment. These decisions can have far reaching implications. For instance, someone who witnesses these green decisions may be inspired to make environmentally conscious decisions as well. Much in the same way people could be inspired, businesses can be inspired as well. Creating a sustainability initiative in a business can be extremely positive and rewarding. For this reason, I think it is vital that the local beer brewing company, COOP Ale Works, adopt a sustainability program. Many breweries have adopt sustainable framework, two such examples are New Belgium Brewing and Sierra Nevada. I believe by implementing some of these ideals into their brewing process COOP can inspire other businesses to become more sustainable. In this paper I will mention the current problems with the brewing process, highlight the changes that can be made based off of current implementation at breweries, and present a four point plan to

“Pollution is nothing but the resources we are not harvesting. We allow them to be dispersed because we have been ignorant of their value.” - R. Buckminster Fuller. A bus company in Great Britain has taken this quote into full effect. The Bath Bus Company has created a first ever “Bio-Bus” and will transfer its passengers between the Bath and Bristol Airport. This 40-seat bus runs completely on biomethane gas which is generated through food waste and human waste. This bus fills two needs: transporting passengers and improving air quality. By recycling an undesirable product, this bus company has created something that improves their society (Pollution Control). There are many more examples of countries and communities developing a product or plan to improve the quality of their life. In fact, environmental protection has dated back to the beginning of ancient civilizations and has continued to be an important concept in today’s society.