Energy

At the Labatt Brewery in London, Ont., increasing energy costs were managed by installing an advanced, natural-gas powered turbine that supplies all of the brewery’s electrical and steam needs. An additional benefit is all surplus electricity is sold back to London Hydro. Through a series of energy reduction strategies, Labatt achieved a 24.9 per cent reduction in energy usage per unit of production between 1993 and 1998. The “Natural Resources Canada – Office of Energy Efficiency Award” for the comprehensive energy management program was presented to Labatt Canada in May 1999 in recognition of this achievement.

Across Canada in 2005, Labatt rolled out $3.5-million worth of new utility meters and energy monitoring and targeting (EM&T) software to monitor electricity, fuel/steam, water, compressed air and carbon dioxide use. This makes accountability and benchmarking more relevant because usage can be more easily compared within a brewery, as well as brewery to brewery, on a daily, weekly, monthly or annual basis.

Coupled with a targeting function based on historic information, the EM&T software can easily identify underperformance and pinpoint where remedial measures are most appropriate. As a result of the EM&T system, across Canada, between 2005 and 2006, total energy and water use were respectively reduced by 11 and 14 per cent.



Wastewater Treatment

As a major user of water, it is only natural that Labatt pays close attention to the amount and quality of its wastewater. Brewery wastewaters can contain varying levels of organic and inorganic waste. Labatt makes a strong effort to optimize the production process and recover brewing residuals in order to improve the quality of its effluent. The separation of yeast, spent grains, label pulp, and dichotomous earth from the wastewater has significantly improved levels of BOD, total suspended solids, and metal content in the water. Furthermore, these now separated residuals can be sold as by-products or sent to landfill and compost facilities.