Are Low Alcohol Drinks Sustainable?

Low alcohol drinks are rising in popularity among the youth for their potential to improve health and vitality. Are they sustainable, and could they also provide improved health for the planet we live on? First, let’s look at the environmental impact associated with producing alcohol.

There is lots of focus on the meat industry’s impact on the environment, but few have looked at the impact the alcohol industry has. Which begs the question, is sobriety more ecologically sustainable? Logically, we know that lower consumption yields lower demand which affects supply and manufacturing and ultimately leads to fewer resources being used. Where does that leave low alcohol drinks? Do they place the same strain on our natural resources?

Brewing alcohol versus producing low alcohol drinks

First, we have to understand the process of creating a beverage, whether it is alcoholic or not. Then, identify which processes require more energy and use of fossil fuels or which emit more harmful gases into the air. Comparing the process of an alcoholic beverage’s manufacture to that of a non-alcoholic beverage will yield your definitive answer.

The first stage in production is the farming process, which is relevant to the production of both alcoholic beverages and low or no alcohol drinks. Wheat, barley, sugarcane/beet, grapes, apples, and agave are some of the most commonly farmed crops for alcohol. They require water via irrigation, pesticide use, fertiliser, and fossil fuel powered equipment for the harvest and transportation processes.

The farming carbon footprint is not as excessive as the packaging aspect, which accounts for 40% of the entire process. The distilling accounts for approximately 14% of the process (depending on the product and brand) while the malting and processing of the grains account for 9%. The 14% only measures the resources used but fails to reveal the damage caused by excessive heat released into the environment.

“As a rule of thumb, the higher the alcoholic content of a drink, the higher the carbon footprint per litre, so beer is lower than wine, which is lower than spirits,” says Tom Cumberlege, Associate Director of corporate carbon measuring company Carbon Trust. “There are also some very specific waste issues associated with making certain types of alcohol. For example, with tequila production, when you pulp an agave plant you get quite a lot of waste, called vinazas, which is acidic and can contaminate soil and water tables when disposed of improperly.”

What you can do

Understanding how energy-consumptive each stage of the production process is, reveals that switching to low alcohol drinks can contribute towards reducing your carbon footprint.

This is how to make your impact meaningful:

• Select low alcohol drinks produced by brands that make use of glass packaging rather than plastic.
• Support brands that display a keen desire to move over to more sustainable packaging practices, such as recycling.
• Recycle your glassware
• Choose organic low alcohol drinks like wine and beer as far as possible
• Choose labels that say “sustainably sourced”
• Enjoy the low alcohol version of your favourite drink

Simply by switching to low alcohol drinks or alcohol-free drinks, you could be reducing your carbon footprint by up to 14%. That may sound minor, but when you multiply 14% by each person on this earth, that is astronomical. And it all starts with one individual making more informed sustainable choices.