MBAA Announces Award of Excellence For Sustainability In Brewing

From the MBAA:

MBAA Brewery Award of Excellence

About the Award 

Established in 2013, the MBAA Brewery Award of Excellence will recognize outstanding achievements by a single brewery in the development and implementation of new and innovative processes that support sustainability in brewing.

Eligibility

The award is open to breweries of all sizes. The sustainability award recognizes a single manufacturing site (not a group or chain of sites) and is based on a single project (not a series of projects) at an existing site. New construction will be considered but will not score well on "degree of improvement criteria".  Projects submitted from past winners and honorable mentions are not eligible. 

Criteria

Sustainability projects will be judged on:

1. Degree of improvement
   The degree of improvement relates to the size of the improvement relative to former performance. For example, a brewery that used to consume 30 BBL water /BBl of beer improved to 10 BBL water/BBL of beer is a dramatic improvement. Though 10 BBL water/BBL of beer may not be a benchmark performance for the industry, the brewery improved nearly 70%. This is a good improvement and should be judged as such. The timing to get to the level of improvement should not impact score (for example, it took 10 years vs. one year). Uniqueness of approach is also scored higher.

2. Local impact on workers and the community
   The local impact is the most heavily weighted in the criteria. The impact of the improvement should not negatively impact the worker community or local community at large. If either is negatively impacted then this scores a zero.

3. Benchmark to industry standards
   This is a benchmark to industry standards. Benchmarks for "Excellence" are listed below. The applicant is to provide detail of what benchmark they improved and provide rationale why it is a marked improvement to benchmark for their size. If the parameter is not included in this list, then a detail of what the parameter is, why it is important, and a benchmark against current industry will be required for the judges to score this section.
   Water <3:1 BBLs/BBL usage
        Energy and CO2 115 MJ/BBL
   Waste 0 Lbs/BBL Waste to Landfill

4. Innovative/unique approach
   The applicant is to provide a unique and resourceful approach to innovation. The applicant should describe why the approach was innovative for the industry to ensure the most objectivity in scoring.

5. Number of KPIs impacted versus degree of simplicity
   The number of parameters and simplicity focuses on the number of KPI’s that are impacted by the scope of the project and the return for which the project brings to the brewery or site. If the project was a simple fix, but impacted all key parameters, then it will score higher. ROI or other financials do not need to be disclosed, only the complexity of the project and the parameters impacted.

How to Apply

Complete the MBAA Brewery Award of Excellence application form and include a summary (maximum of 1,000 words) of a project that propelled the individual brewery to excel in the category of sustainability.

Applications will be accepted beginning October 23, 2013 through February 14, 2014. Winners will be notified by April 1 and recognized at the 2014 Brewing Summit, June 5-7, in Chicago, Illinois.

Selection Process

The applications are judged blind by qualified brewery professionals against the set of criteria noted above. The rubric is calibrated amongst the judges and calculated. The application that scores the highest will be the winner. The winning submission may require further editing for publication.

Award

The winner will receive:

• Two complimentary annual conference registrations to the 2014 Brewing Summit

• $3,000 honorarium

• Plaque of recognition

• Recognition at the 2014 Brewing Summit, announcement in The MBAA Communicator, and MBAA website.

• Winning application will be published in the Technical Quarterly Journal and announced through media public relation outlets.