QUESTIONS TO MANFRED
QUESTIONS TO MANFRED SCHMIDT – Managing Director Technology – WHAT VALUE DOES SUSTAINABILITY HAVE IN THE PRODUCTION OF THE KROMBACHER BREWERY? Sustainability has a high priority for us. As a manufacturing company, we are looking in particular at the production area on our way to more sustainability. A lot has happened during recent years, which has led to a shift in awareness and now forms the basis for changes. Projects that seemed impossible at first are actually possible at second glance. Even though we have been working on constantly improving our consumption and emissions for 20 years, recent developments and the uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine have clearly reinforced the need to pursue this way even more consistently and far-reaching. We see the crises as an opportunity to break new ground. WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS? The very big goal is „decarbonisation“, i.e. to achieve a completely CO 2 neutral production. Currently, we are already CO 2 neutral thanks to our diverse commitment to nature conservation. That‘s a good thing, but it‘s not enough for us yet. If we manage to completely decarbonise our company and at the same time do something good for nature and the environment, we will have made a lot of progress. With this objective in mind, we are currently developing a completely new energy portfolio based on four regenerative columns: With photovoltaics, wind power, geothermal energy and biogas, we can become more independent in our energy supply and save finite resources and CO 2 . That is what we are working on. 6
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST ENTREPRENEURIAL CHALLENGES? These are clearly the topics of energy and raw material security. We take a very close look, where energy losses occur and work on avoiding them. For example, we are increasingly focusing on more economical motors, more efficient lighting and insulation measures. After all, the energy we don’t lose, we don‘t have to generate again elsewhere. Responsible use of our raw materials is also important to us. Resources are finite. As a company, we are therefore required to handle them with care. This is also part of our quality promise, because it goes hand in hand with economic and ecological goals. We are continuously working on becoming more sustainable and implementing measures as economically as possible. Our primary goal is to reduce consumption, both in terms of raw materials – for example, to reduce specific water consumption from the current 3.7 hl of water/hl beer to 3.2 – and in order to save energy, but also to become more environmentally friendly in our packaging. Sustainable good packaging and a highquality product range are not mutually exclusive, but rather complement each other. Further, we see particular potential in heating. Through heat exchange in waste water, there is still a lot that can be done. 7
