Earth Day AF: Non Alcoholic Brands Doing Better As B-Corps
/This article was originally published April 19, 2022 and was updated by a staff writer April 21, 2023.
Happy Earth Day! The first Earth Day in 1970 saw 20 million Americans call for increased protection of our planet. Now every April 22, Earth Day engages over a billion people world-wide, marking it a day of action to create change in human behaviour and demand for a cleaner environment. What began as a small movement in 1970 has grown into an international day of activism.
A wonderful part of Some Good Clean Fun is taste testing alcohol-free drinks on the market. Consumers not only want healthier options for their mind and bodies, but they want better options for their communities and planet as well. Here are some alcohol-free brands that offer delicious options while making environmental sustainability a priority.
The companies we spoke with are B Corp Certified companies and leaders in a global movement for an inclusive and equitable economy. B Corp Certification is a designation that measures a company’s social and environmental impact, balancing purpose and profit, ensuring high standards in transparency, and social and environmental performance.
Athletic Brewing Company
Photo credit: https://athleticbrewing.ca/
We recently wrote about this Connecticut-based beer company that has just landed on grocery store shelves across Canada. According to their website, their mission is “to positively impact [their] customers’ health, fitness, and happiness while greatly impacting [their] communities and environment for the better”.
Athletic Brewing Company demonstrates their commitment to environmental responsibility through various programs, including the ‘Two For The Trails’ initiative, in which they donate a portion of sales up to $2 million annually to preserve, protect and maintain local nature trails, as well as a commitment to using solar energy and maximizing efforts towards water recapture and efficiency.
You can learn more about Athletic Brewing Company’s values on their website.
Thomson & Scott
Photo Credit: Thompson & Scott
Founded by Amanda Thomson, Thomson & Scott (makers of the high-quality Noughty non-alcoholic wine line) shared with us why B Corp certification was important to her:
“We pride ourselves on producing beautifully crafted bubbles using only the purest ingredients and processes. We source our grapes from the organic vineyards of Southern Spain in La Mancha and use a strictly vegan production process, filtrating our wine using no animal by- products. All of our packaging is 100% recyclable.
We recognise the negative impacts of alcohol on everyone, not just those who consume it. We want to change social behaviour to enable people to transition from alcohol to non-alcoholic drinking without changing their social habits. This leads to a safer, more harmonious environment for everyone whilst supporting organic farmers and ethically minded businesses across our supply chain. This is why we chose to pursue a B Corp certification in 2020.”
Learn more about Thomson & Scott’s story here.
Feragaia
Left: Bill Garnock; Right: Jamie Wild (Feragaia founders)
Feragaia is a small non-alcoholic spirits brewing company based in Scotland. As part of their environmental ambitions and sustainable development, they use the B Corp process to implement the foundations of an Environmental Management system, of which they continue to build on.
Feragaia means ‘Wild Earth’ and is a drink that provides a satisfying alternative to alcohol. Feragaia’s social and environmental policy is a huge factor in their decision-making process and is seen as integral to the long-term viability of their business. A quick look at their website and you easily find their extensive environmental and social policy with clearly defined standards and company regulations.
Find out more about Feragaia here:
https://feragaia.com/pages/environmental-and-social-policy
Libra
We’ve written a lot about Libra here [most recently here and here], the Canadian non-alcoholic craft beer brand that launched in October 2020 by Upstreet Craft Brewing. Libra and Upstreet Craft Brewing is the first B Corp certified businesses in PEI, committed to more than just selling great tasting beverages. They are focused on innovating and finding new ways to do business that balances people, the planet, and profit. Upstreet Craft Brewing and Libra follow environmental and sustainability guidelines that are revisited and adjusted on an annual basis. Mitch Cobb, Co-Founder of Upstreet Craft Brewing and Libra says, “Businesses can no longer prioritize profit above all else. Our mission from day one has been to refresh the community by making a positive impact on our people, our communities, and the planet.”
Libra is focused on reducing its environmental footprint by continually finding ways to reduce the ‘per L’ produced consumption of energy, water, and creation of waste. Mike Hogan, Libra’s brewmaster, works hard to source ingredients sustainably and ethically because a big part of the brewing process uses a lot of malt, barley, and wheat. Libra donates their spent grains to local farmers who use them for composting their fields. In addition to environmental sustainability, Upstreet Craft Brewing and Libra are committed to giving back to their community. They launched the Do Good Fund, which donates 10% of profits to local artists and community groups.
“As a B Corp certified company, we want to show that doing business and making a positive impact are not exclusive concepts but can work together synergistically,” says Mitch Cobb. “Libra is proof that we can find our balance, both socially and professionally.”
The Libra team takes a day every spring to plant trees in PEI.
Find out more about Libra and ArtHaus here:
https://www.arthausmusic.com/about
Drop Bear Beers
Drop Bear Beers launched in 2019 and is Wales’ first B Corp. certified brewery and world’s first LGBTQIA+ alcohol free brewery.
“Sustainability has been important to us since our launch in 2019 so we’re super proud to be B Corp™ as of 2021 and to be able to prove to the world that we don’t just talk the talk, we walk the walk too.” Joelle Drummond, Founding Director emphasizes.
The new goal for Drummond is to develop the world’s first carbon neutral alcohol-free craft brewery in Abergavenny, Wales. They have ambitious processes in place to offset their carbon footprint through gold standard projects.
Joelle believes in the importance of building a business dedicated to great craft beers and building a better world through environmental sustainability and a workplace of inclusion.
Joelle and her team also make sure that Drop Bear Beer is a safe place to work and a place where employees can be who they really are. How are they achieving these goals? By being open about who they are and not assuming someone’s personal identity of sexuality (without being told by that person). They boycott organizations that do not hold the same values as they do, and they plan on increased representation across their marketing materials and creating a more formalised 365 inclusion plan for LGBTQIA+ and BAME (UK’s acronym for who is widely referred to as BIPOC in Canada).
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These are just a few companies dedicated to balancing their profits with a greater purpose. As the alcohol-free drink industry continues to grow, we hope to see more companies make the environment and their communities a number one priority, rather than an afterthought. David Suzuki said, “The human brain now holds the key to our future. We have to recall the image of the planet from outer space: a single entity in which air, water, and continents are interconnected. That is our home.” Let’s demand for better business practices this Earth Day and hope the future is brighter for our future generations.
Honourable Mentions
There is more than one way to make a difference and, while not B Corporations, these brands are taking steps to do good for the Earth:
Rally Beer Co. which offers a variety of dealcoholised and low-alcohol beers, is signed up to the 1% For The Planet pledge, a commitment to donate a minimum of 1% of annual sales to environmental causes. They also lead community trail clean-up initiatives thorugh their philanthropic arm Rally For Good.
Harmon’s Craft Brewing does good through their commitment to certified organic products, and its co-founder Steve Abrams is a committed environmental activist with Environmental Defence Canada.
About the Writer
Ariel Ng Bourbonnais is a writer, sober-yoga-teaching mama, and infertility awareness advocate. After struggling with years of infertility, Ariel realized the benefits of a regular yoga practice, writing, and finding humour during hard times. She is a published author of Through, Not Around - Stories of Infertility and Pregnancy Loss (Dundurn Press). She has been regularly practising yoga since 2014, completing 240 hours of teacher training in 2021. https://yogawithariel.cloudstudios.com/
References:
https://www.earthday.org/history/
https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/certification
