Beverage company, Lion, has commissioned its $7.2 million Reverse Osmosis Water Recycling Plant at its Tooheys brewery in Lidcombe, estimated to save 270 million litres of water each year.
The Lidcombe location is the largest brewery in New South Wales and Lion’s Australian network, and will now be able to recover up to 30 per cent of water used during the cleaning and pre-production processes. The plant’s recycled water quality is used for non-food surface cleaning and cooling purposes within the brewery.
The $7.2 million project was three years in the making, and will deliver 270 million litres of water savings per year, equivalent to 5.3 million kegs or 108 Olympic sized swimming pools.
Lion stated it aims to reduce the brewery’s water consumption to achieve the world’s best practice for other businesses to follow. So far it has met its pledge to become a certified carbon neutral organisation by 2020 and has been procuring 100 per cent renewable electricity for its operations from January 2023.
Lion Group CEO, Sam Fischer, said the plant is an investment towards more sustainable beer and setting a benchmark for Australian brewers.
“While Lion is proud of our position as Australasia’s first large-scale carbon neutral brewer, we are constantly looking at what more we can do to reduce our impact on the environment and do the right thing for the long term,” said Fischer.
“Water is one of the biggest inputs to brewing beer and following the success of the Reverse Osmosis Water Recycling Plant at our XXXX brewery in Brisbane, we thought it is only fair to create one for Tooheys drinkers.
“We have an ongoing commitment to sustainability and are focused on investing in practical measures that reduce water consumption, help decarbonise the brewing process and drive the circular economy to reduce waste,” he said.
The Tooheys Lidcombe Reverse Osmosis Water Recycling Plant is the second from Lion, which commissioned the Reverse Osmosis Water Recycling Plant at its XXXX Brewery in Brisbane in 2009, resulting in an average of 282 million litres of water saved per year.
Sydney Water’s head of customer contact, Dan Peacock, said the company was proud to have played a role in bringing the Tooheys Lidcombe Reverse Osmosis Water Recycling Plant to life.
“By implementing a unique way to recycle water, it allows Tooheys to save 270 million litres per year of water, and significantly reduces their water bill by approximately $700,000+ annually,” said Peacock.
“Non-residential customers, like Toohey’s, use about 22 per cent of all drinking water in Sydney. So, this project is a pivotal, sustainable step forward, demonstrating how much water can be saved through a committed water conservation program. By embracing practices like recycling water, they are demonstrating how large-scale businesses can make a substantial difference in reducing water waste and protecting our resources.
“This partnership is just one an example of how businesses can work with Sydney Water to meet environmental goals and conserve water. Every drop of water is precious, especially as we face ongoing challenges in water resilience, so we are really pleased to have supported this innovative project,” he said.
In other areas of sustainability, Lion has exceeded its 2030 Science Based Target by reducing scope 1 and 2 emissions by over 55 per cent from its 2019 baseline. Since setting the target, the company has established a ‘whole brewery’ carbon reduction approach across its Australian breweries, including energy efficiency initiatives, biogas utilisation, rooftop solar panels, renewable power purchase agreements through to providing brewers spent grain to reduce livestock emissions.
