Though I'm not LEED certified, in my life outside of the cocktail world I have done quite a bit of work that has taught more than passing knowledge of environmental impact standards and sustainable practices.
There are many (many) factors in ascertaining a product's environmental impact and its sustainability, but for the sake of this discussion we'll stick to the basic main factors to be considered in assessing environmental impact.
- Toxins/pollutants produced in the growing, materials collection, refining (in this case distilling) process, manufacturing, packaging and distributing the product. Air, water, soil and noise (yes, noise can negatively impact the environment and sustainability) are the four main areas of consideration.
- Environmental impact of harvesting crops - this is a huge factor for alcohol. Think: Hops and barley for beer, grapes for wine, juniper berries for gin, potatoes for vodka...if it grows before it's distilled, the crops have a huge environmental impact. Thanks to advances in agricultural education and soil management, over-harvesting isn't the catastrophic problem that it once was, but, the fertilizers and GMOs added to the plants and soil to grow bumper crops of grains and fruits that will one day be beer, wine and spirits negatively impact the soil and air as well as the affiliated plant, insect and pollination process. More fertilizer may mean more barley, but it also means more chemical pollution in the soil and air. Also think: pesticides. Nasty, nasty pesticides. This is where the organic certification is a big factor. Ditto GMOs.
How
much waste is produced and dumped in the manufacturing process? And
what is that waste? Beer gets my vote for most wasteful alcoholic
beverage manufacturing process. I've heard varying statistics on how
much water is used in the beer manufacturing process. The ratio I hear
most is that breweries use 10 times more water than what leaves as
finished beer product. Which means one bottle of beer results in 10 more
bottles of waste water. (Which is ironic because that's what happens
when I drink a bottle of beer, too.) That's a lot of wasted water. In
fairness to the beer industry, many (most global brands) manufacturers
are making real, concerted efforts to reduce the waste, especially
water, in their manufacturing processes. And speaking of waste, Scotland
has brewed up a way to convert the leftover sludge from whisky production into biofuel. Which means technically a car could be drinking and driving. - How much and what type of energy is used in growing, manufacturing and packaging the product? Think about ingredients and how they're grown/harvested or produced. Water is a huge issue in alcohol production. The brewing and distilling processes use a lot of water. Ditto sugar and sugar cane. Think about the farms where the grains and fruits of your favorite beverages are grown. What's involved in growing and harvesting those grains and fruits? Tractors, threshers, combines...all that farm equipment uses a lot of fuel and emits a lot of pollutants. And those plants need water to grow, if it's a dry growing season, factor in the hydration equipment (and the water used to hydrate the plants).
Speaking
of packaging...glass? can? tetra package? straight from the keg or
cask? What about cartons? Labels? Label adhesive? Ink/paint on cans?
Depending on where you live, glass and aluminum cans that can be easily
recycled are a good option. Most wine and spirit bottles are exempt from
the mandatory bottle deposit/return recycle laws in states
participating in bottle return deposit programs, so recycling them takes
a little more effort on the part of the consumer. If your town doesn't
have a recycling program (or you do not participate), then tetra
packaging is a great way to go. Increasingly more wines are available in
tetra packaging. Serious wine enthusiasts argue that flavor is
compromised in tetra packaging, but for the casual wine consumer, most
of the wines available in tetra packaging get high marks for their price
range. Beer, wine, whiskey...any beverage aged in wood barrels means
the same forestry eco-issues prevalent in any wood-based industry are to
be considered. Check to see if your favorite barrel-aged beverage is
aging in a recycled barrel. Some vineyards are using stainless steel
casks. I've tried a couple "stainless wines" and so far, so good.* The
printing industry was one of the earliest industries to come under
enormous environmental/sustainable scrutiny. Consequently, it's one of
the industries that led the way in innovating environmentally conscious
solutions. If your favorite beverage manufacturer is using sustainable
inks, paper and adhesives, they'll probably mention it on their website.
As you look at the 4" x 6" label on your wine or spirit bottle, it may
seem like a minor consideration, but, consider all the bottles of that
beverage in a case...in 12 cases...it starts adding up to a lot of
paper, ink and adhesive. Using recycled paper, bioinks and adhesives are
steps beverage manufacturers can make to make considerable headway in
Earth stewardship. - How much and what type of transportation
is used in getting the raw materials to the manufacturing facility;
then, how much and what type of transportation is used in the the
distribution of the finished product? Love your Canadian import Molson
or Guinness from Ireland? Wine from France, gin from England, whisky
from Scotland? Yeah, me, too. But. Transporting those imports requires a
lot of trucking, shipping, and more trucking, in some cases flying, and
those trucks, freight ships and cargo planes use a lot of fuel and emit
a lot of pollution. Locally produced beverages not only help reduce the
transportation costs affiliated with distributing, but also support
local, often independent businesses and their employees.
