Anybody that has read James Watt’s 2015 book, Business for
Punks, will
already have a grip on his craft beer company,
BrewDog.
“Don’t waste your time on bullsh*t business plans. Forget sales. Ignore advice.
Put everything on the line for what you believe in,” says the company’s
co-founder.
Channelling the punk spirit of Malcolm McLaren and Johnny Ramone, Watt
tells the story of how his company came into being. “We tore up the rule book
and did things on our own terms.”
Since the business — now the world's largest craft brewer — was founded by Watt
and Martin Dickie in 2007, such punk attitude has largely manifested in the
way the business has marketed its range of ales and lagers.
For example: As the UK saw its first wave of
Coronavirus in March
the country reeled in a political scandal that saw the Prime Minister Boris
Johnson’s special adviser, Dominic Cummings, break the lockdown
rules.
After contracting COVID-19, rather than self-isolate in London, he drove 270
miles north to stay with family. A few days later, while in recovery, he took a
day trip to nearby Barnard Castle in Durham. Asked why he did so, he
said he was merely testing his eyesight — as he was worried the virus might have
affected his vision. Johnson and the Government rallied around Cummings. Rather
than sack him, they protected his job and position at the heart of government.
BrewDog responded to the controversy in its trademark, cheeky way: It launched a
limited-edition Barnard Castle Eye
Test
IPA, billed as “short-sighted beer for tall stories,”which went down a storm
with customers furious at the Government’s hypocrisy. “Rip up those stuffy old
textbooks, reject the status quo, tear down the establishment and embrace the
dawn of a new era,” as Watts writes in his book.
It’s certainly a strategy that is helping to grow the company. As well as making
beer, the company also operates roughly 80 bars worldwide — including its first
alcohol-free bar in
London
which opened in January 2020. In 2019, its Punk
IPA
was the best-selling craft beer in the crowded UK market.
It would be easy to view BrewDog as little more than stunt-based marketing
experts. But clever, rule-breaking communications will only get you so far. The
company has been busy making sure to leave a bigger, more impactful dent on our
culture, putting the all-important issue of climate change front and centre.
In July, the business launched its sustainability programme, known as BrewDog
Tomorrow. There is a clear mission: to
make the company the most sustainable drinks brand on the planet.
Today, all of the company’s UK electricity comes from wind power; and it has
plans to do the same across the world. All of its spent grain, the biggest
by-product of brewing, is being turned into biogas; and it is working with local
partners to turn used malted barley into gas, vehicle fuel and organic
fertilizers.
There are also big investments being made in fully electric delivery trucks.
Meanwhile, the focus on local brewing — in Scotland (where everything
started), the US, Australia and Germany — is reducing the distance
beer has to travel.
In August, the brewer announced it had reached carbon-negative
status,
making it the first carbon-negative international beer business.
While plenty has already been achieved, there is a recognition of a need to go
further and faster.
“We thought we were doing our part for the planet as a business, but after our
co-founders heard Mike
Berners-Lee speak on the
subject, we started doing more research into the matter,” Jason Block, CEO
of BrewDog USA, told Sustainable Brands™. The business looked at the totality
of its carbon footprint — “it was clear we were part of the problem.”
“Even with the measures we had already taken, we needed to do more to positively
impact the planet and climate crisis. We’re running out of time and need swift,
meaningful action to reverse course. We couldn’t let COVID-19 delay us.”
Image credit: Brewdog/Facebook
In the latest chapter of BrewDog’s sustainability story, it has become the first
employer in the world to ensure that all of its staff are carbon negative, too.
The planet-saving employee perk allows staff to calculate their personal carbon
footprint using a mobile app called Pawprint. They
input information such as how they get their electricity at home, their travel
habit, and what food they consume. Once the calculations have been done for all
2,000 employees, BrewDog will then remove twice as much carbon from the air each
year as each staff member is responsible for.
It promises to double offset employees’ carbon footprints immediately with the
help of the current carbon removal projects it is funding; and eventually, with
the BrewDog
Forest
— a 2,050-acre site in Scotland where the brewer will plant trees as a means to
remove carbon from the air.
“We expect most of our employees to take part in this. It’s not a requirement,
but the only way we can offset our team members’ carbon is if they use the app,”
says Block, confident that BrewDog staff will be up for the challenge.
“Sustainability is part of our culture; so while we don’t recruit for it
directly, it is inherent in our process.”
The global craft beer market is set to continue to grow, by US$47.8 billion
between now and 2024, at an annual growth rate of 13 percent. BrewDog’s focus
and investment in sustainability is clearly important to growing its share of a
crowded and competitive market.
“Every decision we make moving forward will be with sustainability in
mind. We’re making sure we have a planet to brew on,” Block adds. Right now, the
business is prioritising carbon reduction in its own operations. While it’s
“crucial to think about a business’ end-to-end carbon usage,” there is still “no
shortage of opportunities” in finding efficiencies in-house.
“Being scrappy and tenacious is part of our DNA. We look for the most efficient
ways to reach our sustainability targets, but there is no doubt it’s added
expense. We’re committed to making large investments, but we have to be able to
do that while remaining profitable for our shareholders.”
It is a big 24 months ahead for the business. In that time, its Ellon
brewery in Scotland will become completely carbon neutral and zero waste. And a planning
application to build an anaerobic digestor has been made to turn wastewater into
clean water, green gas, organic fertilizer and food-grade CO~2~.
And the company is also working with Berners Lee and the design team at Made
Thought to create a new blueprint for what a
sustainable bar of the future might look like — something it can implement
across its network of bars globally.
Some of this work will be paid for via the company’s Equity for Punks
Tomorrow crowdfunding
initiative, a unique way to get customers excited about sustainability while
taking a stake in the business. Today, BrewDog has over 150,000 shareholders
across the world.
“We have received extremely positive feedback on our sustainability
initiatives,” Block says. “Yes, there are certainly some who aren’t as
interested — but they’re in the minority.
“Regardless of who’s behind it, we’re confident it’s the right thing for the
future of the planet and our business.”
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Content creator extraordinaire.
Tom is founder of storytelling strategy firm Narrative Matters — which helps organizations develop content that truly engages audiences around issues of global social, environmental and economic importance. He also provides strategic editorial insight and support to help organisations – from large corporates, to NGOs – build content strategies that focus on editorial that is accessible, shareable, intelligent and conversation-driving.
Published Oct 22, 2020 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST