Earth Day 2021: What a Year Spent on Property has Taught Us
One silver lining from the past year is the sheer amount of time we got to spend at the brewery and on the grounds. Showing up every day to the Beer Park here in Boonville deepened our connection to the property, the Anderson Valley region and our appreciation for how our surroundings directly impact the quality of our beer.
Just being here reaffirmed how important sustainable and environmentally responsible business practices are and we’re proud that AVBC has a history of quietly doing the right things for over 20 years:
- 20+ years of solar power
- 25+ years of energy use mitigation through skylights and more energy efficient equipment
- 25+ years of responsible water usage, treatment and recycling, all within our own property
- 25+ years of diverting waste streams to livestock feed and other agricultural uses
As the new owners we are steadfastly committed to not only continuing the sustainable practices but expanding them, and this past year on the property has driven home just how much our success depends on the air, water and land around us. We are a multi-generational family owned and operated business and we plan to keep it that way.
Recently, we installed a Nitrogen generator, allowing us to convert ambient air into N2, allowing us to replace all our non-carbonation CO2 usage with an inert non-greenhouse gas – a reduction of our total CO2 usage by over 70%. We’re partnering with PG&E’s demand management programs and now host the region’s community resource center in the event of public safety power outages. And looking forward, we are expanding our solar arrays to meet 110% of our energy needs.
We’re also moving our packaging to 100% recycled and endlessly recyclable aluminum and cardboard, eliminating all plastic from our packaging.
It is said that the best time to plant a tree was 100 years ago and the second best time is now. We’re fortunate that AVBC planted the seeds of sustainability and environmental responsibility over 20 years ago. We’re committed to furthering that legacy and are (figuratively and literally) planting even more today.
