Our Goals

Each year new goals are set. These goals are a reflection of how well we performed the previous year, as well as a challenge to create better processes and enhance our existing efficiencies in order to improve and use fewer resources for each barrel of beer we produce. We rely on all members of the Founders Team to do their part to help us reach our goals, without them we would not succeed.

We understand that water is one of our greatest resources, and we treat it that way. Wherever possible we have found ways to reclaim and reuse our water, reducing our overall usage.

Reusing rinse water, reclaiming hot water for facility heating and cleaning and automated brewing processes all help reduce our water consumption.

For 2021 our goal is to use no more than 3.46 barrels of water for every barrel of beer that we produce and package.

Throughout the facility we are working on incorporating energy efficiency into our daily processes. Heat reclamation, energy efficient lighting and variable speed motors all facilitate us in using less energy to produce more delicious beers.

For 2021 our goal is to reduce our overall energy consumption of both electricity and natural gas to no more than 108.96 mega joules (MJ) for every barrel of beer we produce and package.

Part of our responsibility to our environment is to reduce our dependency on landfills. We are taking great strides and working with likeminded organizations to increase our recycling, transition from disposables to reusable or compostable goods and create a company culture of waste reduction.

We don’t include spent grain in our waste diversion goals because we don’t consider it waste! For us, spent grain is a profitable byproduct.

For 2021 our goal is to reach 92% landfill diversion and to continue to reduce the overall amount of waste we produce.

Strike Force Green Highlights

Strike Force Green is our internal sustainability team made up of individuals representing each of the many departments that make up Founders. This team aims to create a culture of environmental stewardship through efficiencies in our processes, education and engagement. They help us implement water, waste and energy reduction measures in each of their respective departments.

Members are also integral in our community outreach program. Each year we work with several environmental organizations and our Strike Force Green team takes the lead on many of the outings or programs that we sponsor.

Events like Tribute on the Grand, the WMEAC Mayors’ Grand River Cleanup, Friends of Grand Rapids Parks tree plantings and park beautification projects are all events at which our group gets to be outside and make a difference in our communities. We also get the opportunity to come up with goals and projects that can be implemented in the brewery.

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