Budweiser called out “misleading” energy claims

In response to a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), beer giant Budweiser has been forced to change its claim on its website that it uses “100% renewable energy” for brewing.

Earlier this year, Irish Senator Lynn Boylan filed a complaint with the ASA over a claim on Budweiser’s website that the brewer uses “100 renewable electricity” in its processes.

Boylan pointed out that Budweiser’s claim could not be substantiated because the beer maker did not provide a breakdown of its energy consumption and could therefore be “misleading.”

According to the ASA, the complaint has since been “informally resolved,” and astute readers will note that the statement on Budweiser’s website has since been changed to reflect a more accurate description of the beer brand’s energy practices.

The asterisk on the original statement now leads to additional information at the bottom of the website, which reads:

“The actual electricity used to brew Budweiser is not 100% renewable.

“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.”

How it’s working?

Budweiser has its own wind turbine connected to its brewery in Wales and a 20-year contract to operate two solar panel farms in Nottinghamshire and West Yorkshire. Both are sources of renewable energy.

However, every company connected to the national grid is supplied with electricity from a variety of sources, including non-renewable fossil fuels, because it is impossible to filter this non-renewable energy from the grid supply before it enters the company.

To offset this, AB InBev’s Budweiser buys certificates called “renewable energy guarantees of origin” (REGO).

According to Ofgem (the UK’s electricity and gas regulator), the REGO scheme “provides transparency to consumers about the proportion of electricity suppliers source from renewable energy.”

Under UK and Northern Ireland fuel mix disclosure rules, licensed electricity suppliers must disclose to customers the composition of the fuels (coal, gas, nuclear, renewables and other) used to generate the electricity they supply.

AB InBev has stated that by 2025 it intends to obtain all purchased electricity from renewable sources.

According to Brand Finance, last year Budweiser was valued at $6.7 billion, and the beer brand was among the top three most valuable beer brands in the world.

Beverage business previously announced that Belvedere plans to power the Polish city of Żyrardów, where its distillery is located, with energy produced in a new biomass capture installation belonging to this premium vodka brand.

The plan assumes that energy from the distillery will be delivered through a “purpose-built pipeline connecting Żyrardów’s municipal power grid,” said Rodney Williams, president and CEO of Belvedere Vodka breast.