Radical approach to growing barley developed

Showing true pioneering spirit, a collaborative team of forward-thinking companies in the food and drinks industry are radically changing the way that barley, one of the main ingredients of beer and whisky, is grown, by cutting CO2 emissions of producing barley by 50% in five years.

The Suntory Group, headquartered in Osaka and with a diverse global portfolio of consumer beverages including whisky, beer, gin and soft drinks, has signed up to an innovative regenerative agriculture trial with Suffolk-based maltster, Muntons plc, to explore how barley can be grown in a more sustainable way to reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions and protect water

The trial is a collaborative effort between The Suntory Group, award-winning sustainable malt supplier Muntons plc, supply chain consultancy Future Food Solutions Ltd and Norfolkbased barley farmers lead by Dewing Grain Ltd. In the first year of this sizeable pilot, which has begun with the 2022 autumn crop-sowing campaign, 16 farmers are dedicating around 400 acres specifically to the trial producing over 1,000 tonnes of barley from spring and winter varieties. This will be made into malt by Muntons and be used in Suntory’s beer and whisky production from 2024.

The project will start by baselining all crop-related emissions, which will inform an innovative nature-based programme of interventions that seek to reduce emissions, enhance soil health and protect water, while maintaining crop performance and grain quality The ambition is to produce barley with 50% lower GHG emissions within five years

Adrian Dyter, Head of Procurement & Technical at Muntons plc, comments, “Muntons sees the importance of taking a practical and holistic view to reducing GHG emissions and we ’ re proud to have been the first maltster to develop a carbon calculator to help identify where the biggest impact of reductions can be made

“Malted barley contributes 39% and 41% to the carbon footprint of beer and whisky respectively So, the success of this trial could pave the way for reducing the overall value chain of production by 20% in a single leap We have invested heavily in reducing Scope 1 & 2 emissions and water conservation and have decarbonised our maltings by 83% since 2007. We are now looking to Scope 3 and collaborations with forward leaning farmers and drinks producers to help achieve ambitious net-zero goal of 2030 and vision to make a real difference ”

Regenerative agriculture is a sustainable farming method that reduces dependency on chemical fertilizers and pesticides through the use of cover crops and no-till farming, lowering GHG emissions but also increasing soil biodiversity www.muntons.com