Conserving & Serving

Growing up in Toronto, Ontario, Sara Taylor remembers nagging her mother to bring the family’s returnable bottles to The Beer Store. She was relentless, wanting not only to do her part in recycling for the environment, but also to collect bottle deposits to fund her candy purchases. Now, as Manager of Communications for The Beer Store, she’s dropped her candy habit but not her commitment to environmental stewardship. “Just ask my neighbors,” says Sara. “I don’t let them get away with throwing away a single bottle.”

The Beer Store is a phenomenon unique to Ontario. Owned jointly by three major brewers – Molson, Labatt and Sleeman – The Beer Store is the primary sales and distribution channel for beer in the province. The Store provides retail and distribution services for all brewers, whether they are cottage, micro or large brewers, and whether from Ontario, Canada, or international. “We give consumers equal access to all brewers,” notes Sara, “with the added advantage of our recycling and reuse program.”

The Beer Store recovers a full 99% of the industry standard bottles purchased in the store, and this brown, long-neck bottle is not just recycled but actually reused some 12 to 15 times first. Another aspect of this environmental commitment, which Sara was not fully aware of until she joined the company, is the recycling of all packaging materials. In addition to the reusable bottles, The Beer Store is a global leader in the practice of “extended producer responsibility”, meaning it takes back all the packaging material it sells – from cardboard, to plastic can rings, to bottle caps – and recycles it.

In the summer months, Sara is proud that The Beer Store sets a good example in energy conservation. Its Conserving & Serving campaign includes a “doors closed” policy where air conditioned air is kept inside stores. In addition, the stores use a “closed loop” transportation system, where the same trucks delivering products to the stores also pickup recycled material, in the same trip. Sara says, “It’s such a good feeling to see that environmental stewardship is not written as a value on some plaque on the wall here,” says Sara. “It’s built into everything we do, everyday.”

For further information, please visit: www.thebeerstore.ca and www.weconserve.ca.