Denver Beer Co. invests in three electric vehicles to power sales team, promote clean environment

Breweries have their challenges when it comes to being eco-friendly businesses. Just consider water usage, wastewater treatment and the glut of packaging concerns alone. So, top craft breweries look for other ways to balance the math. Denver Beer Co. has become a leader in green beer practices. Here’s an example: Denver Beer recently announced the purchase of three electric vehicles to be utilized by its sales team.

Denver Beer went with the Nissan Leaf EV vehicles (side note: I’m a fan of these sweet-looking Electra Meccanica e-cars), so the sales team can travel in style and emissions-free around Colorado and Wyoming. But where’s that electricity coming from, right? Some coal plant? Nope. Each electric vehicle is charged overnight using a newly installed EV charging station and electricity generated by the solar power array on the roof of the Denver Beer Co.’s Canworks facility. Nice. To the press release!

“The Denver Beer Co Nissan Leaf EVs are one more step that we are taking to reduce our carbon footprint and environmental impact,” shared Denver Beer Co co-founder Patrick Crawford. “Every small step counts and we are looking for every possible opportunity to operate our brewery in the most sustainable way possible. The EVs are a no-brainer, electric cars are the future, and we are proud to be an early adapter.”

According to the same press release, each member of the sales team is estimated to drive 11,500 miles per year, and the new Nissan Leafs will save 13.8 metric tons of carbon emissions per year. Denver Beer Co. is hoping for more sales and thusly plans to purchase additional EVs as needs of the sales team grow. Let’s hope they do.

How else is Denver Beer embracing green?

The addition of the Nissan Leaf EVs is one of many sustainability initiatives that the brewery has implemented over the past several years. In addition, Denver Beer’s Canworks production facility is run on 100 percent solar power, meaning each can, bottle and keg is produced with 100 percent clean energy.

Another major sustainability initiative is the brewery’s use of Earthly Lab’s innovative carbon dioxide capture technology which captures and stores excess carbon dioxide produced during the beer fermentation process for reuse. Each year Denver Beer will capture over 100,000 lbs of carbon dioxide with this technology to be recycled and reused by other industries, ensuring it is not emitted into the environment. Further, Denver Beer uses high efficiency machinery in its manufacturing process, LED lighting, locally sourced ingredients, and has implemented an internal recycling program.

“As always, we remain committed to Colorado and our collective future,” continued Crawford. “Our vision is of a greener Colorado. Plus, beer brewed sustainably just tastes better!”