Budweiser has launched an ad campaign revealing that every single can, bottle and keg of Budweiser in the UK has been brewed with 100% renewable electricity since January 2021.
In 2018 Budweiser Brewing Group UK&I (BBG) signed the UK’s largest privately funded solar power deal and claimed to be the first major brewer in the UK to commit to brewing from 100% renewable sources.
In January 2021 having built two solar farms and a wind turbine, BBG now generates enough renewable electricity in the UK to power the brewing operations not only of Budweiser, but its entire portfolio, including other the Stella Artois, Corona, Bud Light and Becks brands.
Budweiser said that if all UK breweries were to go 100% renewable, making every one of the 8.5 billion pints drunk every year in Britain net zero, it would lead to a saving of more than 350 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Budweiser’s new ad campaign, set to Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the wind” track ran for the first time in the UK on digital from 29 March and on TV and video on demand from Friday 2 April and will run until November 2021.
The campaign will reach 95% of the UK adult population 11 times across the year.
Budweiser’s very own wind turbine at Magor brewery, South Wales, is helping it achieve its 100% renewables goal.
The turbine is believed to be the tallest to enter commercial operation on UK soil, with blade tips reaching a height of 150 metres and sweep an area equivalent of two Wembley football pitches.
Alongside its wind turbine, Budweiser has signed a 15-year deal with NextEnergy Solar Fund to use electricity generated by two solar farms.
At the time the deal was inked, it was the largest privately funded solar deal in British history.
This is part of a broader, innovative, sustainability strategy which includes the removal of all plastic rings from Budweiser cans, the move to brew exclusively with barley grown on British farms, an exclusive green energy tariff for pubs and bars in partnership with Opus Energy as well as an ongoing programme of carbon reduction projects in all of BBG’s three breweries.