Guinness wants to give its black beer a greener hue: the Irish brewer announced on Wednesday 23 February the launch of a pilot farming program aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its suppliers of barley, one of the main ingredients of drinks.
During the first phase of this regenerative farming project, Guinness plans to partner this year with 40 farms in Ireland growing this grain which is used for malt production.
The three-year program will then be extended, with the goal of improving soil health, increasing biodiversity, reducing fertilizer use and increasing farmers’ incomes, the brewer’s parent company, Diageo., said in a press release.
“This pilot program (programme) is the first of its kind to be implemented by Diageo and the results will reveal other potential opportunities, in Ireland but also in other countries where we source raw materials”, said John Kennedy, president of Diageo Europe. It is part of the group’s strategy to decarbonise its operations by 2030.
For Walter Furlong Junior, a farmer participating in the project, “the great advantage of regenerative agriculture is the simplicity of its approach” because “it works in harmony with nature and offers farmers a commercial advantage”†
(AFP)