Budweiser clarifies ‘100% renewable electricity’ claim on UK website following complaint to ASA

Following the complaint, Budweiser had to clarify the claim on its website that its beer was brewed using “100% renewable” energy.

The complaint was “informally resolved” by the advertising regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), meaning the brewer agreed to substantiate the claim and provide details about its fossil fuel use, and the issue was not made public.

The home page of Budweiser’s UK website now features an asterisk next to the statement “Budweiser is brewed using 100% renewable energy.”

At the bottom of the page there is an explanation of the electricity used and the renewable energy produced.

“The actual electricity used to brew Budweiser is not 100% renewable,” reads an explanation at the bottom of the page from March.

He continues: “But Budweiser ensures that an equivalent amount of energy is produced under green energy agreements to offset the amount of non-renewable energy used from the national grid to power our brewing processes.”

Asterisk adds that Budweiser’s two renewable energy sources are an on-site wind turbine connected directly to the Budweiser brewery in Magor, Wales; and a 20-year contract to operate two solar panel farms located in Nottinghamshire and West Yorkshire, which the company says produce more electricity than its breweries require.

What was the basis for the complaint?

Earlier this year, before the ASA heard the complaint, the website simply stated “100% renewables”, with no breakdown of energy consumption and production.

The complainant, Irish Senator Lynn Boylan, argued that the text was misleading and could not be substantiated.

Everything connected to the national grid will be powered by electricity from a variety of sources that make up the UK’s fuel mix, including wind and solar power, as well as nuclear generators, oil and gas.

The share of renewable energy and fossil fuels varies from day to day depending on weather conditions.

There is no way for electricity generated from fossil fuels to be filtered from the national grid before it reaches a particular home or business.

Companies claiming to use “100% renewable electricity” often use a complex trading system that purchases certificates for renewable energy produced somewhere in Europe.

This energy does not go into the UK fuel mix or the national grid.

What is REGO?

Budweiser, owned by international beverage maker AB InBev, could claim to be “100% renewable” because it buys certificates called renewable energy guarantees of origin (REGO).

The certificates pay for renewable energy produced elsewhere and are intended to encourage the production of renewable energy.

According to its website, Budweiser is purchasing REGO to offset the amount of non-renewable energy used from the national grid to power its breweries.

Energy regulator Ofgem is critical of REGO.

A report on the 2018 parliamentary debate said: “We also note that suppliers can buy REGO cheaply, so suppliers can easily and cheaply ‘green’ some tariffs.

“Our starting point, therefore, is that simply having renewables in the portfolio is not enough to demonstrate that the tariff provides support for renewables. We do not have sufficient evidence that existing renewable energy tariffs provide additional environmental benefits beyond existing renewable energy generation.”

2021 saw the launch of a government review of the way energy retailers sell ‘green’ electricity tariffs to consumers, in a process that includes REGO.

“Few people will read the fine print.”

After Budweiser added clarifications to its UK website, the ASA told Sky News: “We considered these changes were sufficient to informally resolve the matter.”

However, the complainant, Irish senator Lynn Boylan, appealed the ASA’s decision to accept the Budweiser website change and not issue a full ruling. She described the regulator’s response as “very disappointing”.

“While my complaint has been substantiated in principle, in practice the consequences for Budweiser (UK) are far too weak,” she said.

“The reality – that fossil fuels are used to brew Budweiser beer – is buried, and the big lie – that it uses 100% renewable energy sources – can continue. Few people will read the fine print to see that this claim is false.”

Ms Boylan’s complaint was made to the UK regulator after a similar complaint was upheld by the Irish Advertising Standards Authority.

A statement from Budweiser Brewing Group of the UK and Ireland said: “AB InBev UK purchases and produces more electricity from renewable sources than it uses in its breweries. This is documented in the pan-European REGO or GoO (Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin) scheme, which is a regulated scheme managed in the UK by Ofgem.”

“Our renewable energy sources for UK breweries include: A nearby wind turbine directly connected to our brewery in Magor, Wales. A 20-year virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) to operate solar panel farms (Grange in Nottinghamshire and South Lowfield in West Yorkshire) that produce more electricity than our breweries require,” the statement continued.

“The UK&I team took this complaint seriously and have worked with the ASA to amend the website to reflect all requested changes.”

“The ASA has stated that it believes the changes we have made will resolve the complaint without the need for a formal ruling by the ASA board.”