After announcing it would go 100% renewable in 2017, Anheuser-Busch today announces it will reach that goal upon completion of a 222-MW solar project in Texas in 2021. The project is the largest for any U.S. beverage company.
Through a PPA signed between Anheuser-Busch and solar developer Recurrent Energy, Anheuser-Busch will purchase the renewable electricity credits from the new solar energy facility being built in Pecos County, Texas.
On June 5, World Environment Day, Anheuser-Busch president and CEO Michel Doukeris will sign a commemorative five-billion-year contract with the sun.
“At Anheuser-Busch, sustainability isn’t part of our business, it is our business,” Doukeris said. “This is about category leadership and making a positive contribution in the communities we live and work. This expansion and investment in our renewable electricity commitment not only brings us closer to realizing our dream of a better world, it also moves our business and operations forward.”
Anheuser-Busch’s commitment to solar is just one of its Better World program efforts focused on renewable electricity. Last year, Anheuser-Busch debuted its U.S. 2025 Sustainability Goals, focused on four key areas: renewable electricity and carbon reduction, water stewardship, smart agriculture, and circular packaging.
The ambitious goals, which build on the 2025 Global Sustainability Goals announced by the brewer’s parent company AB InBev, help guide and further Anheuser-Busch’s industry-leading sustainability efforts in the United States. through 2025. The company’s new solar power commitment, coupled with its partnership with Enel Green Power to use renewable electricity credits delivered from the Budweiser Wind Farm at Thunder Ranch in Billings, Oklahoma, will enable Anheuser-Busch to meet its goal of brewing with 100% renewable electricity by 2021 in the United States – four years earlier than expected.
This announcement follows on the heels of Budweiser becoming the first Anheuser-Busch brand and the first major beer brand in the U.S. to be brewed with 100% renewable electricity from wind power in 2018, which the brand showcased in a commercial during this year’s Super Bowl.
“As the country’s leading brewer, we’re committed to driving meaningful change as we announce the largest solar partnership in the world for the beverage industry,” said Ingrid De Ryck, VP of procurement and sustainability at Anheuser-Busch. “From suppliers to wholesalers and retailers to our 18,000 colleagues, our teams across the country will continue to find innovative ways create a world that is cleaner and more sustainable for future generations.”
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