Sustainability

The brewery was set up to help secure the financial future of the farm, but we feel strongly that there is no point doing that if the whole enterprise is not environmentally sustainable as well. We also received great support from our local community when we were setting up the business, and we want to repay that support, as well as sharing our sustainability experience to help others, and learn where we can still improve.

Governance and reporting

We believe that it is important not only to implement a wide range of measures to improve the sustainability of our brewery, but also that these measures are independently audited to ensure that they are ambitious enough and that we are progressing towards them. The main reporting mechanism at Ballykilcavan is through the company’s membership of Origin Green, the Bord Bia national sustainability program. Ballykilcavan is a verified Origin Green member, and in both 2022 and 2023, we were awarded the highest possible Gold membership level, making us one of only two breweries of any size in the country to be currently rated as Gold members.

As an Origin Green member, we are audited annually on progress in 7 different areas: raw material sourcing; packaging; energy; waste; water; biodiversity and community. The auditing is conducted independently by Mabbett, and to pass, we must be scored as satisfactory or exemplary in each area.

One of the wildflower meadows at Ballykilcavan.

Most Recent Results

The results here are from our most recent audit in April 2023, and relate to the year ended December 31st, 2022. We will publish the results of our 2024 audit when they become available in May.

Ingredients

• 95.9% of grains are IGAS (Irish Grain Assurance Scheme) certified (1.9% ahead of target). The balance are imported from overseas.
• 70.4% of our speciality malts are made from Irish (Ballykilcavan) barley (0.4% ahead of target)
• 5.7% of our hops are grown in Ireland (at Ballykilcavan) (2.7% ahead of target)
• 100% of our yeast is produced in Ireland (50% ahead of target)

Energy

• 1.589 kWh of energy used per hl of beer in package - reduction of 14.3% on 2020 baseline figure (10.53% ahead of target)
• 11kWp solar array commissioned in autumn 2021
• New 39kWp solar array commissioned in spring 2022 - total production capacity of 50kWp

Water

• 10.46 litres of water per litre of beer in package - reduction of 4% from 2020 baseline (On target)
• Separate soft water tank installed for cleaning plant

Packaging

• Compostable box tape used for bottle cases - 100% (50% ahead of target)
• Oxo-biodegradeable pallet wrap used - 100% (50% ahead of target)
• Multi-use cups used for festivals and events - 100% (on target)
• Pre-printed cans used instead of plastic labels - 13% (17% below target)

Waste

• 100% of organic byproducts recycled or upcycled (on target)
• 1.93 kg of landfill / recycling per hl of packaged beer: -11.8% compared to 2020 (10.2% ahead of target)

Biodiversity

• 320m² of pollinator garden (540% ahead of target)
• 220m² of wild grass area (10% ahead of target)
• Maintain wild bee colony in old farmyard
• Barn owl box installed near brewery - 4 chicks born in 2022 and 4 chicks born in 2023
• Three red squirrel feeders intalled near brewery.

Community

• €1474 sponsorship of local events / teams (391% ahead of target)
• €5000 charity donations (900% ahead of target)
• 7 groups given free access to brewery/farmyards/farm - (16% ahead of target)

11kW solar array on the brewery roof - part of the 50kW system that powers the brewery.

Awards

We are very proud to have won three major sustainability awards in 2022, and one more so far in 2023. We feel that there is always more work to be done on our sustainability, but these awards are great recognition of the work we have done so far.

In April 2022, we won the national Small Firms Association sustainability award.

We were then named Best Small to Medium business (companies with up to 250 employees) in the national PwC / Sunday Business Post Sustainable Business Awards.

In November 2022, we won the Sustainability and Climate Action award in the Laois Business Awards in November 2022.

In May 2023, we won the the overall Agri-Food category at the national PwC / Sunday Business Post Sustainable Business Awards.

In November 2023, we won the title of best small to medium sustainable business at the national SEAI awards, and took home two awards from the national Better Farming Awards: Best Sustainable Small Food Producer and Environmental Farmer of the Year for David.