Kompania Piwowarska’s breweries switch to 100% wind electricity thanks to cooperation with innogy.

Warsaw, 5 November 2019; Kompania Piwowarska SA, owned by Asahi Breweries Europe Group, signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with innogy to purchase electricity from 100% renewable energy sources (RES). From 2020, Kompania Piwowarska’s three breweries (Tyskie Browary Książęce in Tychy, the Dojlidy Brewery in Białystok and Lech Browary Wielkopolski in Poznań) will use electricity produced by innogy’s Polish Nowy Staw wind farm. 

The long-term contract will run for 10 years – from 2020 to 2029. From 2020, innogy’s Nowy Staw onshore wind farm close to Gdańsk (73 megawatts) will supply 30 gigawatt-hours annually to Kompania Piwowarska. As a result of the planned expansion of the existing farm in Nowy Staw (by up to 11 megawatts), starting from 2021, 100% of KP’s breweries’ energy requirements will be covered by wind electricity. The wind farm will supply 80 gigawatt-hours per year to the three above-mentioned breweries.

This is the first time that a PPA has been signed in Poland for supply from a planned wind farm that is not benefiting from any state subsidies. 

Igor Tikhonov, President of Kompania Piwowarska: “I am very glad that our breweries will switch to 100% wind electricity already in 2021. Consequently, we will be able to reduce our CO2 emissions by 66% compared to 2019 – which means that 7.5 thousand ha of forest will not absorb carbon dioxide released by Kompania Piwowarska during production of beer. At the same time, KP will reach approx. 40% share of renewable electricity already in 2020, which translates to the ability to produce one of the biggest Polish beer brands – Lech – entirely with the use of wind electricity. What makes me even happier is the fact that this deal lays the ground for innogy to invest in a new onshore construction project that will support the UN Agenda 2030 program and allow us to execute the environmental vision of our mother company, Asahi Group”. 

Robert Macias, innogy Renewables Polska Board Member, explains: “The agreement between innogy and Kompania Piwowarska is a breakthrough on the Polish market – for the first time ever, production needs will be covered with energy from a wind farm on such a large scale. It is the best proof that the industry takes a green path and does not have to depend on conventional sources of energy anymore. Companies can execute commercial undertakings that not only meet their business objectives, but also support environmental protection. This transaction will allow us to expand the wind power plant in Nowy Staw, and thus completely cover Kompania’s breweries’ energy needs already in 2021.” 

Kompania Piwowarska expects to reach approx. 40% share of renewable electricity in the total amount of electricity used by its breweries by the end of 2020, and plans to switch to 100% RES by the end of 2021.

The plan is a part of Kompania Piwowarska’s sustainable development strategy based on 4 pillars: environment, society, responsible choices and responsible business. As a result, the company has executed 13 out of the 17 goals set by the UN under “Agenda 2030”, simultaneously contributing to the execution of the environmental vision of Japan’s Asahi Group.

In terms of environmental protection, Kompania Piwowarska’s activities resulted in one of the industry’s highest levels of water efficiency in production of beer – 2.64 hl of water per 1 hl of beer in 2018. It puts the company among the leaders in water conservation not only in Poland, but also in the world. Moreover, KP comprehensively monitors the amount and parameters of generated sewage, and strictly obeys the rules of wastewater treatment before it is reintroduced to the environment. Last year, the company managed to recycle almost all the by-products and waste generated by its breweries (99.65%), and it uses returnable containers to a great extent – last year 46% of its beer was sold in returnable bottles

More information about the sustainable development strategy can be found at: https://www.kp.pl/files/Kompania-Piwowarska-Raport-zrownowazonego-rozwoju-za-2018.pdf