MillerCoors asks you to conserve water

The beer company would like consumers to join them in being responsible to the planet.

Fri, Nov 20 2009 at 10:28 AM EST

photo: Pink Sherbet/Flickr

Sometimes it’s easy to look at a mainstream beer company, or any mainstream company, and think that their products aren’t green because they haven’t been labeled organic. If you dig a little deeper, however, you’ll often find that these companies are doing things behind the scenes to lessen the environmental impact that their facilities create. Many of them do things like reduce packaging, use alternative energy supplies, or practice water conservation.

A while back, I wrote about MillerCoors sustainability goals. Several of their goals centered on around environmental sustainability. One of their big environmental pushes is water conservation.

The established water usage target set by the United Nations Environment Program for brewers worldwide is 5.00 barrels of water for each barrel of beer produced. In 2008, MillerCoors recorded a 4.10:1.00 water-to-beer ratio. In 2010, they will aim to reduce that ratio to 3.96:1:00.

The beer company has launched a new website called Great Beer Great Responsibility that invites those who drink MillerCoors’ beers to join them in their goals including their goal of being environmentally responsible. Since one of the company’s focuses is on water, they are asking consumers to focus on the same.

They’ve got a water conservation challenge on their site that asks consumers to reduce the amount of water they use by pledging to do one of the following.

Shorten my shower by a minute or two
Turn off the water while brushing my teeth
Turn off the water to rinse with while washing dishes by hand
Turn off the hose while washing my car
Run my washing machine only when it is full

These are all very simple actions that anyone is capable of taking. I would think that many of you who read this blog are already doing several of them. However, MillerCoors isn’t trying to reach those who already do those things. They are making the effort to reach those who maybe don’t think of environmental sustainability on a day-to-day basis, and asking them to start small. In my opinion, that’s the only way the majority of Americans are going to get involved in sustainability – starting small and working their way up. That’s the way I started.

If you don’t do any of those things already, I encourage you to hop over to their website and take the pledge. If you’re already involved with water conservation, next time you see someone drinking a MillerCoors product, tell your beer-drinking friend about the Great Beer Great Responsibility site and suggest they check it out.

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