At current production levels, the move will eliminate 150 tons of
paperboard from going into New Belgium packaging, while preventing 174
metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year. In addition, the
transition will save New Belgium an estimated $280,000 in the coming
year.
"We've designed a new 12-pack carton that will tighten the case to
prevent bottles from hitting each other during transit," says director
of operations Mark Fischer. "We ran the initial test of 2,500 cases
into our local market with no complaints or breakage issues."
Known as an industry leader in minimizing resource consumption, New
Belgium has long sought to reduce, reuse, and recycle throughout its
production process. Reducing consumption of paperboard has the added
benefit of cutting costs.
"We researched this decision thoroughly, and the vast benefits are hard
to ignore," adds New Belgium's sustainability director, Jenn Orgolini.
"We are continuously looking at new ways to improve our processes, and
this shift makes a lot of sense."
Consumers will start seeing the new 12-packs immediately for some New
Belgium beers, while the remainder of its existing Fat Tire inventory
will be used through February 2009. "Folly" packs, or mixed 12-packs,
will still use the partition due to the logistics of hand-packing.
