Comparing the Embodied Energy of BeerTrim and the UK's Beer Dispense Waste
In our last blog, we presented our findings in regard to the volume of draft beer dispense waste accumulated in the UK during the course of one year. Using a modest 5% average in draft beer dispense waste, 106,071,650 litres of beer is wasted (1).
A case study of BeerTrim revolves around embodied energy. Our motivation was to see how much embodied energy is required to manufacture three BeerTrim to every pub/bar across the UK in comparison with the embodied energy associated with the beer that is wasted as a result of inefficient beer dispensing.
Firstly, we need to be clear about the definition of embodied energy that we will be using for this blog post. Embodied energy is a concept that is becoming more adopted by manufacturers, construction companies and brewers alike. A working definition of embodied energy is ‘the sum of the energy requirements associated, directly or indirectly, with the delivery of a good or service’ (2). The purpose of doing an embodied energy assessment is to compare the amount of energy produced or saved by the product to the amount of energy consumed in producing it.
There are three ways of defining embodied energy; cradle-to-gate, cradle-to-site, cradle-to-grave. For this blog post, we will use the cradle-to-gate definition since the data used to calculate our findings have all taken this approach. Cradle-to-gate is defined as ‘model simply describes the energy required to produce the finished product without any further considerations’ (3).
Our data for the component part of BeerTrim was sourced from the European Union commissioned study HyTech Cycling performed Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) on materials used in the production of hydrogen fuel cells (4). From the data sourced in this study, we then worked out the embodied energy for each component that makes up one BeerTrim nozzle after taking into consideration their respective weights. Below are BeerTrim’s embodied energy figures:
Material |
Embodied Energy (kg C02eq/kg) |
Weight in one BeerTrim (g) |
Embodied Energy for one BeerTrim (kg C02eq/kg) |
Stainless Steel |
2.19 |
160 |
0.35 |
PTFE |
12.9 |
20 |
0.26 |
Silicone |
3.21 |
70 |
0.22 |
Total |
18.3 |
250 |
0.83 |
If three BeerTrims were fitted onto every pub in the UK, of which there are 47,200, the embodied energy is 117,966 kg/C02/kg (5).
Our focus then moved onto the embodied energy of beer. Our data was sourced from Net Zero Now who calculated that an internationally produced lager is 500g CO2e per 500ml (6). Using the aforementioned figure of 106,071,650 litres of beer wasted due to inefficient dispense, the embodied energy of this is presented in the table below:
Value |
Unit |
500 |
gCO2 / 500ml |
1000 |
gCO2 / 1 litre |
106,017,750,000 |
gCO2 / Annual Beer Dispense Waste (ABDW) |
106,017,750.5 |
Kg (1,000 g) / ABDW |
106,017.0 |
Ton (1,000,000 g) / ABDW |
0.11 |
Megaton (1,000,000,000,000 g) / ABDW |
Our research has found that the embodied energy represented by inefficient beer dispense waste far outweighs the embodied energy represented by retro-fitting BeerTrim across the UK. This presents a strong argument for brewers and publicans around the country to adopt BeerTrim, strengthening their sustainability credentials in the run up to a busy Christmas period.
Sources:
(1) Wilkinson, Dylan. “An Eleven Hour Shower? The Scale of Dispense Waste and What We Can Do About It.” BeerTrim (blog), October 7, 2021. https://beertrim.eb-sites.com/5716757175074816.
(2) “Embodied Energy and Carbon.” Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). Accessed December 7, 2021. https://www.ice.org.uk/knowledge-and-resources/briefing-sheet/embodied-energy-and-carbon.
(3) Ibid.
(4) Mori, Mitja, Andrej Lotric, Rok Stropnik, Bosjan Drobnic, and Mihael Sekavcnik. Tech. LCA of Materials Represented in FCH Technologies. European Commission, 2020.
(5) Foley, Niamh. “Pub Statistics.” House of Commons Library, December 7, 2021. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8591/.
(6) Net Zero Now.
Comparing the Embodied Energy of BeerTrim and the UK's Beer Dispense Waste
In our last blog, we presented our findings in regard to the volume of draft beer dispense waste accumulated in the UK during the course of one year. Using a modest 5% average in draft beer dispense waste, 106,071,650 litres of beer is wasted (1).
A case study of BeerTrim revolves around embodied energy. Our motivation was to see how much embodied energy is required to manufacture three BeerTrim to every pub/bar across the UK in comparison with the embodied energy associated with the beer that is wasted as a result of inefficient beer dispensing.
Firstly, we need to be clear about the definition of embodied energy that we will be using for this blog post. Embodied energy is a concept that is becoming more adopted by manufacturers, construction companies and brewers alike. A working definition of embodied energy is ‘the sum of the energy requirements associated, directly or indirectly, with the delivery of a good or service’ (2). The purpose of doing an embodied energy assessment is to compare the amount of energy produced or saved by the product to the amount of energy consumed in producing it.
There are three ways of defining embodied energy; cradle-to-gate, cradle-to-site, cradle-to-grave. For this blog post, we will use the cradle-to-gate definition since the data used to calculate our findings have all taken this approach. Cradle-to-gate is defined as ‘model simply describes the energy required to produce the finished product without any further considerations’ (3).
Our data for the component part of BeerTrim was sourced from the European Union commissioned study HyTech Cycling performed Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) on materials used in the production of hydrogen fuel cells (4). From the data sourced in this study, we then worked out the embodied energy for each component that makes up one BeerTrim nozzle after taking into consideration their respective weights. Below are BeerTrim’s embodied energy figures:
Material |
Embodied Energy (kg C02eq/kg) |
Weight in one BeerTrim (g) |
Embodied Energy for one BeerTrim (kg C02eq/kg) |
Stainless Steel |
2.19 |
160 |
0.35 |
PTFE |
12.9 |
20 |
0.26 |
Silicone |
3.21 |
70 |
0.22 |
Total |
18.3 |
250 |
0.83 |
If three BeerTrims were fitted onto every pub in the UK, of which there are 47,200, the embodied energy is 117,966 kg/C02/kg (5).
Our focus then moved onto the embodied energy of beer. Our data was sourced from Net Zero Now who calculated that an internationally produced lager is 500g CO2e per 500ml (6). Using the aforementioned figure of 106,071,650 litres of beer wasted due to inefficient dispense, the embodied energy of this is presented in the table below:
Value |
Unit |
500 |
gCO2 / 500ml |
1000 |
gCO2 / 1 litre |
106,017,750,000 |
gCO2 / Annual Beer Dispense Waste (ABDW) |
106,017,750.5 |
Kg (1,000 g) / ABDW |
106,017.0 |
Ton (1,000,000 g) / ABDW |
0.11 |
Megaton (1,000,000,000,000 g) / ABDW |
Our research has found that the embodied energy represented by inefficient beer dispense waste far outweighs the embodied energy represented by retro-fitting BeerTrim across the UK. This presents a strong argument for brewers and publicans around the country to adopt BeerTrim, strengthening their sustainability credentials in the run up to a busy Christmas period.
Sources:
(1) Wilkinson, Dylan. “An Eleven Hour Shower? The Scale of Dispense Waste and What We Can Do About It.” BeerTrim (blog), October 7, 2021. https://beertrim.eb-sites.com/5716757175074816.
(2) “Embodied Energy and Carbon.” Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). Accessed December 7, 2021. https://www.ice.org.uk/knowledge-and-resources/briefing-sheet/embodied-energy-and-carbon.
(3) Ibid.
(4) Mori, Mitja, Andrej Lotric, Rok Stropnik, Bosjan Drobnic, and Mihael Sekavcnik. Tech. LCA of Materials Represented in FCH Technologies. European Commission, 2020.
(5) Foley, Niamh. “Pub Statistics.” House of Commons Library, December 7, 2021. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8591/.
(6) Net Zero Now.