Berczy is Carbon Neutral

At the inception of Berczy, the three founders – Nick, Nick and Matt – wanted to make a delicious hard seltzer that put sustainability at the core of everything. Cans were chosen instead of glass, local ingredients were sourced as a priority, and everything was manufactured and stored locally here in the UK, to ensure carbon emissions were kept as low as possible.

What is carbon neutrality?

Carbon neutrality means that the carbon footprint of a company has been calculated on the basis of internationally-recognised standards, and fully offset by supporting climate action projects.

ClimatePartner's label "carbon neutral" certifies that unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions have been offset. For the sake of legibility, all emissions are referred to as CO2 emissions and measured in tonnes of CO2. 

How did we calculate our carbon footprint?

Nick and Lucy have spent the last three months doing a full life-cycle analysis on how much carbon dioxide is produced when we make a can of Berczy. This analysis includes all the raw materials, ingredients, packaging, and transport from the factory all the way to the customers hands.

We discovered that Berczy’s supply chain emits 179g of carbon dioxide per 250 ml can. This was already low, but not enough - we wanted to set more ambitious targets. We decided to offset all of our carbon emissions by planting thousands of trees in Europe and South America!

During the analysis, we discovered that our packaging, and the materials used in our packaging, made up the bulk of our carbon emissions. Looking at our cans, we are now working with suppliers to find sources of aluminium that have a higher percentage of recycled material to further reduce environmental impact. And, in terms of cardboard, we have decided to source 100% recycled material for all applications as well as water based inks, to ensure that our oceans are kept as clean as possible. 

With COP26 currently a large talking point, it’s so important that it’s not just big companies making pledges on how they can reduce, reuse and recycle. Small and medium sized businesses should lead by example to ensure everyone is working towards the same end goal of Net Zero.

There is no second planet, so let’s look after this one!

Working with Climate Partner to do good

So far, we have offset 53,000 kg of CO2, and we have been able to contribute to three important causes; predominantly focussing on afforestation in Rio Kama, Nicaragua and forest protection in Pará, Brazil. We also work with Climate Partner to plant trees in Germany.

In eastern Nicaragua, Climate Partner has helped plant more than 1 million plants of a native bamboo, which covers 2,361 hectares and further protects an additional 1,000 hectares of an old forest. This mitigates deforestation and captures CO2 as well as creating microclimates and livelihood for vulnerable communities. When the bamboo is harvested it can also regenerate quickly, and each bamboo clump has a lifetime of 80 years! 

Brazil’s Pará region is located in the Amazon, where they are struggling with huge commercial deforestation. More than 86,000 hectares in this region is protected by the Ecomapuá project, which creates alternative sources of income for residential families, like trading the açaí fruit (a Brazilian superfood) - this all protects ancient rainforest and ensures future generations can enjoy this incredible landscape. 

Find out more about Climate Partner here.