The Lidcombe brewery operates seven days a week and produces an average of 800,000 litres of beer a day. It currently uses more than a billion litres of water a year, but boasts a world-beating ratio of 3.7 kilolitres of water to each kilolitre of beer produced, compared to the global average of 5-6 kilolitres of water per kilolitre of beer.
Tooheys had already cut water use by 334 million litres a year through improving the efficiency of its bottling and canning operations. The Water Savings Action Plan identified ways to save a further 8 per cent (98 million litres a year) by capturing, treating and reusing brewing wastewater.
The company's Energy Savings Action Plan identified emission savings through monitoring energy use and upgrading equipment. Tooheys is also investing $4.7 million in two major energy saving projects, with the support of the NSW Climate Change Fund.
The company secured $2 million through the Green Business Program towards a $4.2 million natural gas-fired cogeneration plant that is reducing peak demand at the site by more than 2MW. The project is saving 17,062 megawatt hours of grid electricity and 10,416 tonnes of carbon pollution a year.
A $417,000 refrigeration system upgrade and power factor correction project is saving a further 1,226 tonnes of carbon pollution a year, with the backing of $150,000 from Round 2 of the NSW Energy Savings Fund.