Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore (APBS) has been in Singapore for the past 93 years, and we intend to be here for many more … and the only way to thrive is if our people, planet, and the communities around us thrive!
Sustainability is not a new journey for us – the #BrewABetterWorld programme was launched in 2009. But in 2021, we launched a new set of ambitious commitments globally to be achieved by 2030; to raise the bar and enable faster progress towards a net zero, fairer and healthier world. Since then, it has become embedded in everything we do – from the way we source all our natural ingredients sustainably to how we serve a glass of cold beer to our consumers. (When we say we #BrewABetterWorld, we really mean it!)
As the leading and most sustainable brewery in the nation, we’ve made solid progress and we’ve also learned a lot along the way. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the things we’re doing …
Brewing Sustainably: We have over 8,000 solar panels on our rooftops, which contributes to 20% of our power mix that we tap on for brewing our beers. But that’s not all – our rainwater harvesting system and water reuse treatment plant help us to reduce our water intake, saving an equivalent to that of almost 400 4-room HDB households annually.
Did you know that our solar panel installation is the size of three FIFA football fields?
Reuse, Reduce and Recycle: It doesn’t stop at brewing – what goes around, literally comes around! In 2018, we reduced the thickness of our aluminum cans, cutting down 25,000kg in packaging waste. The packaging of our beers that you see (and enjoy!) in a hotel, restaurant, hawker centre or supermarket is either 100% reusable that come back to us to be cleaned and reused; or taps on easily recyclable materials where we can count on our consumers to recycle after use. And that’s not all. We’ve also been looking at innovative ways to upcycle our food waste and contribute to a circular economy – by repurposing our main source, brewers’ spent grains, as animal feed.
Green and Eco-Friendly Practices: Taking care of the environment also starts from the little everyday things. In 2023, APBS is Eco-Office certified for the first time ever! This is awarded to local companies after a holistic assessment of how resources and waste are managed in the office, alongside the implementation of sustainable practices, and more. We have also made the switch to 100% green fridges, which halve the carbon emissions that keep our beers fresh and cold.
Employee Engagement: We don’t only talk the talk – we also walk the walk … quite literally! For World Water Day last year, we joined PUB’s “Walk for Water” event, visited the NEWater Visitor Centre to learn about our NEWater technology, and organised in-house sharing sessions on how to do our part for water conservation. We also planned a massive beach clean-up for Earth Day in 2023 where we collected more than 180kg of trash that lined our beaches and sorted them into recyclables and non-recyclables – all in a day’s work!
Water is a scarce resource in Singapore and with beer made up of 95% water, it is essential that we all do our part in conserving every drop.
After separating the waste, we had 4 kg of recyclables collected, cleaned, and ready to be recycled. Cheers to closing the waste loop!
Community Impact: But it’s also about the people and the community around us – and using our business as a positive force for change. We kickstarted our community recycling programme, Let’s Recycle Together, where we set out to enrich the active aging journeys of our seniors by encouraging them to become ambassadors and contribute to Singapore’s goal of becoming a Zero Waste Nation. Our APB Foundation Scholarship for Persons with Disabilities also recently recognised its 20th batch of young recipients for their grit and academic excellence, having empowered and awarded more than $2.3 million to 59 scholarship holders with disabilities in their education to date.
Over three months, we amassed a total of 857kg of recyclables from all of our seniors living across 14 housing blocks!
It is with great pride that we celebrate the academic excellence and grit of our outstanding APB Foundation Scholars of 2023!
Our sustainability journey may have started decades ago, but we still have a long way to go. From addressing climate change and water scarcity to creating a more equal, healthy, and fair society, we are determined to play our part in tackling these challenges.
Curious to find out more? Follow us on our social media channels to see how we continue to strive to #BrewABetterWorld!
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