How Can The Beverage Industry Be Made More Sustainable?

When we look at the beverage industry, it consumes a lot of water, about 1500 Billion litres*  of water every year, which is about 20% of the annual human water consumption. Analysis of the water footprint of the top 20 beverage companies suggests that more than 45% of the water is sourced from groundwater in these companies. Groundwater is non-renewable and in most parts of the world has been continuously declining, the localized factories of the beverage industry put a lot of pressure on the ground table. Several protests and agitation is building up against these beverage companies, all around the world. 

There are several beverage industries that are trying to step up their sustainability game by taking a number of viable measures. Three of the main components of any beverage industry are water, packaging and electricity. AB InBev, which is the largest beverage company in the world has set its foot in the sustainability sector by taking up an initiative of using 100% Renewable electricity in the production of their beer. Celebrities like Will Smith, Gwyneth Paltrow, have jazzed up the beverage industry by introducing water bottles with 53% paper packaging and Liquid Death introduced metal cans and imbibed sustainability. But, is that enough? What about the water inside these cans? More than 90% of the content in most of the beverages is water!

Can water also be renewed? If yes, then from where? The answer is Air! Yes, you read that right, it's Air. Air is one such source that has 6 times the water, then all the world’s rivers combined. And moisture in the air replenishes naturally in just 8-10 days. When this inexhaustible moisture in the air is harnessed using only renewable energy, we can call that water 100% renewable. There are a number of companies that are working with this concept to generate water. In the AWG (Atmospheric Water Generation) space, companies like Maithri Aquatech, WaterGen and other 190+ companies use refrigeration to extract water, which is not sustainable. A big name, Source Global has also dipped its feet in sustainability by using desiccant based technology to extract water with renewable energy. But what about scalability? There is no point in coming up with solutions and not being able to meet the needs of the larger capacity in the beverage industry. Here is where Uravu comes into the picture, providing solutions that are not only fully renewable but also of industrial-scale. 

Uravu solution provides the highest and consistent quality water and produces no waste when compared to a combination of Reverse osmosis and groundwater. This can be used by the industries to reduce the freshwater consumption. Uravu is not just words, it believes in action! It has already started revolutionizing the beverage industry by partnering with some of the largest beverage industries like AB InBev and Radico Khaitan. Uravu installed the first pilot of the 5 LPD system in May 2022, at AB InBev’s Bangalore office. AB InBev is looking forward to exploring the larger systems of up to 10,000 - 50,000 LPD, and Uravu is the only scalable solution that can supply this capacity while still being renewable. We have started working with Radico Khaitan (India’s third largest liquor manufacturer) and installed a 5 LPD and 20 LPD system. 

Uravu is also coming up with their 100% renewable packaged water bottles, serving sustainability in a bottle! Sustainability is not optional anymore, it is a necessity, it is also an important tool to increase the brand value.  Bringing changes to the world is important, but with 100% Renewable water we can deliver a tangible way of moving towards sustainability, because the major component of most of the beverages is water. By partnering with Uravu, the beverage industry can reduce groundwater depletion and carbon footprint while putting sustainably appealing beverages in the hands of every consumer. 

The article has been authored by Swapnil Shrivastav and Pardeep Garg, Co-founders of Uravu Labs