Brewery Vivant and Broad Leaf Brewery & Spirits Release Annual “Beer the Change” Sustainability Report

From Brewery Vivant:

Every year on St. Patrick’s Day local certified B Corporation Brewery Vivant and Broad Leaf Brewery & Spirits release their annual sustainability report “Beer the Change” as their version of green beer. The 2021 report includes updates on the company’s progress towards all 9 of their sustainability goals. Highlights this year include:

• 1.1% of sales were donated to local community partners including benefit beers with Friends of Grand Rapids Parks, Our Kitchen Table, The Highlands, John Ball Zoo, and Grand Rapids Pit Bull Alliance

• 79.1% of all purchases made were with privately-owned Michigan-based companies

• 12.5% of Cherry Street electricity usage was from their 192-panel solar array

• Carbon footprint intensity was down 19% compared to 2020. This is a measure of the volume of greenhouse gas emissions per dollar of revenue generated.

Additionally, the company calculated the carbon footprint of their most popular menu items and includes information about the carbon footprint of food on their website. “We believe that all diners should have easy access to this data. The climate crisis is real and requires significant changes to many of our habits so we pledge to be transparent and to continue to work with local, progressive farms,” states Vivant executive chef Chris Vander Meer.

The company recently announced their membership in the Department of Energy’s Better Climate Challenge and Better Plant Challenge. In doing so, they have committed to a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 25% energy intensity reduction in 10 years using 2021 as the baseline. “By joining these programs, we will be able to utilize the many industrial decarbonization and energy efficiency tools and resources they provide. Accelerating energy efficiency is a key component of any comprehensive GHG emissions reduction strategy,” commented co-founder and president Kris Spaulding.

For the first time, the report includes information on the company’s DEIJA (diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, accessibility) strategy. “Our company exists to build community both inside and outside of our doors. Our desired outcome for our work is that our team members have an understanding of the barriers to equity and inclusion within our company & our community. We will encourage our team members to take this knowledge and act on it, working together to help create a sustainable community for all,” states vice president Jonathan Ward.

In addition to the launch of the sustainability report, the company has announced that they joined a coalition effort to expand Wilderness areas in the Upper Peninsula. The proposed areas include the Ehlco area, the Trap Hills, Norwich Plains, and the Sturgeon River Gorge Wilderness Addition. By designating these four key areas that already lie within National Forest boundaries as Wilderness, the coalition believes they can ensure that these rare and beautiful places in the U.P. stay pristine for our use, enjoyment, and spiritual rejuvenation — both today and for generations to come. Learn more about this campaign and the areas at www.KeeptheUPWild.com

Who we are

Broad Leaf Brewery & Spirits is a Certified B Corporation located in the city of Kentwood. At our tasting room, we focus on flavor exploration, building community and finding the connections between industry and the natural environment. Broad Leaf explores what it means to be a modern American craft brewery and spirits maker.

Brewery Vivant is the world’s first LEED® certified commercial microbrewery and a Certified B Corporation. We brew beer in the European tradition with the addition of American ingenuity. At our pub we strive to elevate the enjoyment of beer & food and the sense of community in everything we do. Brewery Vivant prides itself on being a destination brewery in the “Beer City” of Grand Rapids. We are one of the largest brewpubs in the U.S. according to Brewer’s Association definitions and have distribution throughout the State of Michigan.