Sustainable operations management and benchmarking in brewing: A factor weighting approach

Abstract

The brewing industry has been moving towards more efficient use of energy, water reuse and stewardship, and the tracking of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to better manage environmental and social responsibility. Commercial breweries use a great deal of water and energy to convert one gallon (liter) of water into one gallon (liter) of beer. An analysis was conducted on sustainable operations and supply chain management at various United States and international breweries, specifically Europe, to benchmark brewery performance and establish common metrics for sustainability in the beer supply chain. The primary research questions explored in this article are whether water reclamation and GHG emissions can be properly monitored and measured and if processes can be created to help control waste (lean) and emissions. Additional questions include how we can use operations management strategies and techniques such as the Factor-Weighted Method (FWM) in industries such as brewing to develop sustainability scorecards.