Innovation

Being Sweden's largest organic brewery, Poppels adheres to the strict all-in approach to its organic materials. For everything from the malt and hops in the beverage, to the label around the bottle, Poppels is certified (SE-EKO-1) and ultimately organic in all ways. Not only this, but Poppels looks to improve their own sustainability more by recycling spent malt and grains, protecting local water supplies by using "green" cleaners such as ozone, and creating energy loops in the most energy-heavy production units. Mat Whalström and Poppels live by the motto, "We want everyone to enjoy a Poppel's beer, no matter their personal choices." These organic and other sustainable practices are at the core of "every little thing helps" and create a sustainable practice around Poppels Bryggeri.

As previously mentioned, it is not only the organic products that Poppels Bryggeri is implementing. In normal beer production, harmful acidic cleaning materials are used, and if not stored properly these can have harmful effects on groundwater and surface water sources. Poppels has looked to solve this by ditching the chemicals and using ozone as the primary cleaning material. Moreover, the brewing process is extremely energy intensive, specifically when cooling the beer from 90 degrees Celsius down to 18 degrees using cold water. Poppels has introduced energy loops and exchanges, and Poppels recycles the energy and water into other aspects of its production line.

The primary source of Poppel's sustainable operations comes from their all-in organic view, and through that, they have created a fun and inclusive atmosphere within the company. Their philosophy that "every little bit helps" has spilt over to other elements of their production. Through these innovations, Poppels Bryggeri is looking to define a new brewing initiative within the niche Swedish and International market.

Inspiration

At the beginning of the process, Wahlström had this to say, "When we started up the brewery, we had an idea that we wanted to be an organic brewery. We reached the conclusion that there is a difference between the raw materials if they are eco or not. Whether we are compromising on where we want to be from a beer perspective. If we say that all ingredients be organic, then we don’t compromise. Beer and the quality, and the taste takes priority. It took about 3 or 4 weeks before we landed that that is the way we view it." This is in line with how Poppels views their practices: every little bit helps and Poppel's wishes to do their part to help sustainability.

Overall impact

The overall impact of the organic production of beers is small currently. Unfortunately, not many breweries in Sweden have chosen to implement such practices but internationally the use of sustainability and environmental practices are growing steam in the brewing industry. Other breweries, particularly in the western United States and Canada, have looked to increase their sustainability footprint. Through further conservation and proactive actions, the brewing industry, not just Poppels, can grow to become a player in the world's sustainability game.

Business benefit

The business decision to implement organic brewing practices, along with further work in sustainability through energy transfer, grain waste disposal, and sustainable cleaning practices has many advantageous implications on the business. These decisions and ethical production operations allow Poppels to produce a product that reaches the mass market and is available to all customers regardless of dietary choices and complications. This gives Poppels Bryggeri and unique competitive advantage over other breweries.

In the customer perspective, Poppels allows choice in nontraditional beer preferences. The larger and more experienced companies grew in the international lager market. Poppels Bryggeri focuses away from that giving customers a unique choice in beer, and when including the use of organics and differing sustainable practices, opens the market for themselves and allows customers to feel good about drinking a Poppel's beer. The continued growth of organic choice allows sustainable conscience customers and consumers to know they are helping a brewery that also looks to help the environment and social aspects of today's world.

Social and environmental benefit

Environmentally, the implementation of Poppel's organic process and sourcing are pronounced. The environmental benefits of using organically sourced products impact four major areas: Soil, water, air and climate change, and biodiversity (FAO, 2018).

When using organic farming and production practices, soil building is implemented. This practice helps to improve soil quality and growth of soil fauna and flora, thus improving the soil quality over time. This soil management also plays a critical role in soil erosion (FAO, 2018).

In many agricultural areas, pollution of groundwater and nearby bodies of water is a major concern while using synthetic and dangerous fertilizers. The use of organic-based fertilizers looks to improve the pollution and create a growing and flourishing ecosystems (FAO, 2018).

The use of organic farming and production also reduces the amount of nonrenewable energy used in production. Just as well, organic farming can also mitigate the greenhouse effect through carbon absorption into the soil. Lastly, organic farmers and producers are users of biodiversity. Biodiversity promotes through the above-mentioned methods of soil, water, and air respectfully (FAO,2018).

Interview

Mats Wahlström, CEO