All language subtitles for Tomorrows.World.Today.S06E07.Barley.Any.Waste.1080p.WEB.h264-CBFM_track3_[eng]

[narrator] On
Tomorrow's World Today,

we explore
the cutting edge advances

that are shaping
four different worlds.

The world of inspiration,

where the wonders
of the natural world
amaze and inspire us.

The world of creation,
where ideas come to life
from traditional arts.

The world of innovation,
where ideas and inventions
move us all forward.

The world of production,

where innovations
are mass produced
to improve our lives.

From Inventionland
world headquarters,

here's your host,
George Davison.

Hi, everybody.
I'm George Davison.

In 1854, my great-grandfather

who's right here
in this picture,

founded the Davison Sand
and Gravel Company.

And he started it all
when he was just 14 years old.

And over the course
of a 125 years,

it became the largest
operation of its type
in western Pennsylvania.

For companies to withstand
the test of time,

no matter
what they're producing

they have to think
about sustainability

when it comes to creating
their final product.

So, let's say you were making
a beverage.

You'd be thinking about the
location of your water source,

because it's gonna have
a direct impact

on what it's gonna cost you
to make your product.

If you have
a secondary ingredient
such as barley

that you're gonna add
to that beverage of yours

you're gonna be thinking about
how to cost-effectively
transport that barley

into your beverage operations.

Today, companies
are also considering

how to make their beverages
as sustainable as possible

without sacrificing
their taste, right?

Customers are demanding
good environmental practices

from the companies they're
buying their products from.

So, I'm going to be
sending Greg to the
world of production

to explore how
one beverage company

is using
smart business practices

and state-of-the-art
technology

to make the beverages
that we've all come to know
and love.

Cheers.

[Greg] I am at the
Molson Coors Beverage Company
in Golden, Colorado.

Home of the first
Coors brewery that opened
150 years ago.

I'm gonna meet
with Rachel Schneider.

She is the, uh, vice president
of sustainability

and environmental health
and safety.

We're gonna discuss
Molson Coors' ongoing efforts

to reduce their
environmental impact

and promote sustainable
practices throughout their
entire operation.

-Hi, Rachel.
-[Rachel] Hey, Greg.
How are ya?

Great. Nice to meet you.

Rachel, one of the
most impressive things
about the Coors family

is that they've been
improving and innovating
for five generations.

And what a lot of people
may not realize,

even though it wasn't called
sustainability back then,

they've been implementing
these kinds of practices
since the 1950s.

They sure did.
So, the aluminum cans started
in the late 1950s

as well as one of the first
recycling programs in the
United States.

A lot of people
don't know that.

Um, and you see that spirit
of innovation continuing today

with our big G150 project
and all the water and
energy efficiencies

we're gonna put together
with that.

And speaking of recycling,
I'm really proud that

99.6% of our packaging today
is recyclable.

Well, I can't wait to learn
more about that.

So, what else do you have
to show me?

Well, let's go up to Bill's
and I'll show you a whole
lot more.

Rachel, last I said that
sustainability practices began
with Coors back in the 1950s.

What can you tell me
about those early initiatives?

So, in the late 1950s
Bill Coors pioneered
the two-piece aluminum can.

Took years of research,
millions of dollars
of investment,

a lot of trial and error.

Uh, but within 12 years
aluminum can had replaced
the steel can.

And part of that was because
Bill Coors actually encouraged

the rest of the industry
to adopt the can

rather than keeping it
proprietary, uh, to Coors.

I think he... he really
recognized the benefits,

not only of less material
and the opportunity
for more recycling,

uh, but also, for us,
better tasting colder beer.

Excellent. Well,
tell me about that... that
first Cash for Cans program.

So, in addition
to inventing the can

they pioneered
a recycling program.

One cent per can.

You brought 'em back.
Uh, it was distributor led

and you could get
one cent per can.

So, you think about
our recycling programs now,

that was really
the start of it
in the United States.

And he really faced
a little bit of resistance.

Um, there were folks
that didn't want industry
kinda playing in the space

and really thought
it should be up to consumers.

Um, but it was...
it was pretty successful.

Well, I guess, back then
at a penny a can
a kid could do pretty well.

They could do
very well, indeed.

All right, well, I know that
as things have, uh,
come along,

sustainability means more
than just recycling now,

it also means
resource management.

What can you tell me
about that?

As a beer manufacturer
it all starts with barley

and that means it all starts
in brewing.

So, let's head over to brewing
and we'll talk about it there.

[Greg] You lead the way.

Barley is obviously
a vitally important part
of the brewing process.

It's also a very
important part of you
resource management program

which I imagine means
partnering with farmers.

It does. So, we partner
with farmers to adapt

better and more sustainable
agricultural practices.

In fact, a 100%
of our barley farmers

have formally recognized
those standards.

And since 2018,
we've paid out more than
$6 billion in incentives

to farmers for adopting
more sustainable practices.

That's 2018 but this
all started a long time ago.

It did. So, all the way
back in 1946

and we call it
the Better Barley,
Better Beer program.

It was a way to partner
with farmers to ensure
that we had a reliable source

of good quality,
high yield barley

and give them stability
in their livelihoods as well.

In addition to that
we have a whole team

research and development
and agronomists

who work with our farmers
on growing practices,

water use manage, tillage,
all of those types of things.

Um, and in addition
they also help work
on cultivars of barley

that could be adapted
to the varying conditions
across the Mountain West.

Great. Well, that means
whenever you're having
a beer at home

you can be assured that
sustainable practices

have been a part
of the process
from beginning to end.

Absolutely. And to continue
that story

Peter Coors is waiting for you
over by the kettles.

-[Greg] Hi, Peter.
-[Peter] Hey, Greg.
Welcome to Golden.

[Greg] Thank you very much.
This room is so impressive.

Now, these kettles look like
they have been here
for a while

-but they're really
state-of-the-art.
-They are.

We've kept the copper domes
because they're beautiful,

but we replaced the bottom
of the kettle

because they just wear out
over the years.

So, we replaced those
with stainless steel

'cause it's a more efficient
way to heat our mash.

So, you talked to Rachel
about the barley.

We take that barley and
we cook it here in this room

before we send it off
to fermentation

where we make it into
some of the greatest beer
in the world.

Great. Well,
what's the next step?

We're off to filtration.

Peter, I know that
Molson Coors is
really committed

to reducing
energy consumption.

How does cold filtration
help with that?

So, for Coors Light,
we chill the beer down
to near freezing temperatures

and filter out anything that
could do harm to that beer.

By doing that
we reduce the need
for external heating sources

and make a very
energy efficient beer.

Okay, well, how much energy
are we talking about?

For a packaging line
that does 11 million cases
a year,

if it switches over
to cold filtration

it'll save about
90 million megajoules.

To put that in perspective,

the average American home
uses 39,000 megajoules
a year.

So, that's enough energy to
power 2,300 American homes.

Wow, and what are some of
the other benefits to
cold filtration?

By keeping our beer cold,
we protect the flavor and
the aroma of the product.

So, it's a great example
of Molson Coors

delivering a very
high quality product

in a very
energy efficient way.

Excellent. Well, I know that
Rachel's outside right now,

she's at the creek,
she's gonna teach me more

about how Coors is reducing
their environmental impacts.

All right, let's go.

[Greg] Rachel,
everybody's pretty familiar
with the old adage,

-reduce, reuse, recycle...
-Mmm-hmm.

...and that's a pretty
easy thing to visualize
when it comes to materials.

A little less so whenever
it comes to water.

But water usage,
water management,
water conservation

very much on everybody's mind
these days.

And it's really no different
for us.

So, we try to apply a
continuous improvement mindset

in improving the efficiency
of all our operations

and that naturally extends to
energy and water use as well

so to reduce the consumption
and the intensity of our use
of those resources.

Well, what are some of
the things that Molson Coors
is doing to that end?

So, we use technologies to
reduce our water consumption

as well as optimize our
water treatment processes.

And then we have
some initiatives in a
few of our breweries

to actually reclaim or reuse
and recycle the water
that we use.

This allows us to not only
make our beer more efficiently

but also to reduce
our environmental impact.

Right, and reducing your
environmental impact
is very important

and it does not stop
at your brewery door.

It does not. We also partner
with local organizations

here in Colorado, Texas
and other locations

to really look at
water conservation

and water restoration
at a watershed level

and that includes supporting
land management practices
and education

that is gonna help
that watershed be healthier.

Excellent. Well, I know that
there is some reduce, reuse,
recycle initiatives

going on on the production
line, too and I'd really love
to see that.

Yeah, we've got some
really great things going on
at packaging,

so, let's go take a look.

What seems to be
from what I've seen so far

that the spirit of innovation
has been a part

of the Coors legacy
from the very beginning.

I mean, every part of the
process has been looked at

with an eye towards
improvement or increased
sustainability

from the brewing
right down to the packaging.

Absolutely. And I'm really
proud to tell you

that 99.6% of our packaging
today is recyclable,

including all of these
aluminum cans you see here

as well as
all of our glass bottles.

Another thing that most people
don't realize is that

less than four and a half
percent of our packaging
is plastic.

It's mostly aluminum
and glass.

[Greg] Well, how are you able
to do that?

Got a couple initiatives going
on to eliminate plastics.

We're phasing out PET bottles
in the US and Canada.

And the number two, which is
a very extensive project,

we are replacing
a whole bunch of equipment

across our US and
Canadian breweries

to be able to get rid of those
single-use plastic rings

that you see on four-packs
and six-packs.

So, what will happen, is that
it'll actually get wrapped

in a fiberboard carton wrap.

We think that'll save about
one and a half million or more
pounds of plastic every year.

That is a big break from
the way things have been done
in the past.

Now, is that gonna
impact quality at all?

No, absolutely not.

So, as you can imagine

before we implement
something that massive

that it's gonna cost us
about $85 million.

We test it pretty thoroughly.

So, we did a lot of work
to make sure that the
packaging was really durable,

that it wouldn't, you know,
break open while you were
carrying it.

Uh, that it's stackable.

-Mmm-hmm.
-That's pretty important
for our customers

when you go into the store
to see it.

And that the structure will
actually maintain over time

including all the way
to your house.

All of that is really amazing
and this has been great to see

but, now, I understand Peter
has something really big
to show me

and I'm very excited to see
that, so, I'm gonna go
catch up with him.

Okay, let's go
to fermentation.

Peter, explain fermentation.

It's the process of
converting sugar into alcohol.

And we generate a lot of CO2
that we collect and reuse
here on-site.

We've been using
these box fermenters
for over 60 years now.

But enough about the past.

Let's go upstairs
on the roof,

-take a look around and see
what the future holds.
-Let's go.

-Wow, so this is the future.
-[Peter] It is.

In 2020, we broke ground
on a multi-year

revitalization of
the Golden brewery.

In 2023, Coors brewing company

is celebrating a 150 years
of brewing legacy.

So, in honor of that we've
named this project, G150.

All right, well, what are
the benefits of G150?

[Peter] There are so many.

We're gonna save
millions of gallons of water,

we're gonna save energy,

and we're gonna reduce
our greenhouse gases.

We can't wait to get our
first brews to the new seller

because I think
the performance is gonna be
even better than expected.

And as you know,
Rachel expects a lot.

I know. I do understand that.

One other thing
that I understand is,

from the very beginning
when you broke ground

sustainability was in mind.

It was. There were some
small buildings that sat
on this site.

We tore them down.
We either recycled or reused
98% of that material.

That's excellent.
Well, I wanna find out
more about this

but it's getting
kinda hot up here

so why don't we head down
to your office,

-and we can talk more.
-[Peter] Sounds good.

[Rachel] The next 150 years
and hopefully beyond
for this company

which is what sustainability
is actually about.

How do you invest and evolve
yourself for the long haul.

I think we're gonna see
continued evolution

of our practices
in agriculture.

I think we'll see
more efficiencies

driven in the actual
manufacturing and brewing
process itself.

An evolution of recycling

and materials infrastructure
in the United States
and elsewhere

and including
how we use packaging

and what materials we use
in that packaging.

So, that our consumers
can continue to celebrate
life's moments

with a really great,
cold Coors Light.

[Greg] Well, Peter, tell me

what does it feel like
to be spearheading such
an iconic project?

It's truly an honor.

My uncle Bill built the
brewery we know of today,
60 years ago.

And it's my honor to be able
to keep that legacy going

and put my fingerprint
on this iconic location.

What are some of the things
that you're hoping to
accomplish with G150?

It's really about making
this brewery more efficient.

So, we're putting in
new cooling systems
which will save energy.

We're putting in
new filtration systems
that will save beer.

And we're putting in
new cleaning systems
that will save water.

So, overall,
we're gonna make our beer
that much more efficiently

so that our consumers can
enjoy our high quality
Coors Light

in a most
responsible way possible.

Peter, a lot of companies
are focused on reducing
their carbon footprint

but carbon capture's been
a part of your standard
practice for quite a while.

G150, however, is gonna
really raise the efficiency
on that.

[Peter] Our company goal
is to reduce emissions

from direct operations
by 50% by 2025.

And that's based on
a 2016 baseline.

We're really setting us up for
the next generations to come

to make great,
high quality beer.

So, you're looking ahead
at the next 150 years.

We are. You know, I stand
on the shoulders of giants

and my hope is that some day
my kids and grandkids can do
what I've done.

That's awesome. Well,
we've gotten a bird's eye view
of G150

but now I wanna see
the inside of it.

Let's go grab some hard hats

and meet up with Rachel
inside the G150 cellar.

[Greg] Peter, back at your
office we talked about
carbon capture

and, uh, reducing
your carbon footprint

and the investment
that you're making into
those technologies,

we're looking
at that investment.

We are. This is the G150
construction site in action.

-But wait till you see
what's around the corner.
-All right.

Wow. Peter, this is amazing.

These are enormous.
How many are there?

[Peter] They're not
all in, yet. But there'll be
62 fermenters

in total, when we're finished.

-Hey, Rachel.
-Hi, guys.

[Greg] Hey, Rachel.

Peter, tell me a little bit
more about how
these tanks work.

These vertical fermenters
are designed

so that when we
drain out the beer,

every drop goes over
to packaging

and can be enjoyed
by our consumers.

[Greg] Molson Coors really has
taken sustainable practices

and made it the heart
of what you do.

You have a whole holistic
approach that involves,

uh, water management,
energy efficiency,
waste reduction,

even responsible sourcing.

Well, when you have a legacy
as long as we do

it's pretty natural to take
the long view.

Uh, we've got a
really proud history,
we've accomplished a lot,

we know that there's
more work to do.

And I'm just excited
that we're investing in
the Golden brewery

to make it the most efficient
brewery in the network.

We're always looking
for innovative ways

to make our process
more efficient and
reduce waste,

carrying on the legacy
of my family

to make great beer for today
and great beer for tomorrow.

Brewing beer
for tomorrow's world.

Well, this has been
a great day. What else do you
have to show me?

Let's go up to Bill's pub,
have a Coors Light and
talk about what we've seen.

All right.

[Peter] When my boss
came to me and asked
if I'd be willing to serve

as the leader of this project,

my first response was,
"I get to rebuild this brewery

like nobody since Uncle Bill?"

He is a giant
in the beer business.

When I think about
the five generations,

each generation has been
able to put their fingerprint
on this brewery

and this is gonna be
my fingerprint on Coors

for now and
for generations to come.

[George] So, Mary,
I hear there's a big story
behind this Bill's bar.

Yeah, I think that Peter
will tell you about that
when he gets here.

-I was curious about all those
beers behind you--
-[Greg] George, you made it.

-Hey, Greg.
-[Greg] It's good to see you.

George, let me introduce
you to Rachel Schneider.

-Hi.
-Hi, Rachel.

-Peter Coors.
-Hey, Peter.

George Davison.

-Nice to meet you.
-[George] And to meet you.

You know, on Tomorrow's World
we wanna know the future
of things,

so, can you tell me
about the future of Coors?

Well, the future
still starts with barley

'cause that's what we need
to make our great beer.

So, we always wanna
keep our mind on
growing practices

and the cultivars for barley.

So, we do a lot of work
to make sure that

we have barley that's gonna be
great for the change

in growing conditions
of the Mountain West.

So, that's kind of
the front-end.

-On the back-end,
let's talk about packaging.
-Okay.

Got some great examples
of some innovations
we've implemented recently.

So, by the end of 2025

you aren't gonna see
a six-pack in a plastic ring
anymore.

It's gonna be in these
nice fiber wraps.

This is gonna replace
those old plastic rings

-that go around
hold the six-pack?
-[Rachel] Yeah.

-That's going away?
-[Rachel] Yup.

Uh, all of our products
you won't see it on there
by 2025.

That's wonderful.

Well, what other initiatives
do we have going on?

Well, George, we just came
from what they're calling G150

and I mean, you know
what a technology geek I am
but let me tell you

what's going on
in this new brewing process,

innovative, sustainable,
amazing

and Peter can tell you
more about it than I can.

Yeah, we call it G150
'cause this is our 150th year
of making beer

here in Golden.

So, we're remodeling
the brewery,

bringing it up
to the 21st century

so we can save water,
save energy and reduce
our emissions.

-[George softly] Nice.
-We're not only investing
here in Golden,

but we're investing
across our supply chain

to make our beer sustainable
as possible.

But before I tell you more,
Mary, can I have four
Coors Lights?

So, consumers are looking
for brands that support
their values.

Sustainability is part
of our family legacy.

And is a priority
for our company
for years to come.

I've heard that your family
has a history of

sustainable practices
that go way back.

-Is that right.
-[Peter] It does.

[Rachel]
Peter's uncle Bill...

-[George] Mmm-hmm.
-...uh, Bill Coors helped

not only pioneered
the two-piece aluminum can

but also, introduced
the first recycling program

for cans
in the United States, so,

that was Cash for Cans,
that's what you see on that
little calendar there.

And you could bring back
your cans for a penny each.

And that's
all the way back, when?

[Rachel] Started in the late
1950s and as you can see,
extended into the '70s.

[George] That's fabulous.

So our corporate motto is
"Bringing people together

to enjoy
all of life's moments."

So, I think we should have a
Coors Light and keep chatting.

-[George] That's a
great idea, Peter.
-[Greg] Thank you.

All right. So, here's to
the next 150 years and beyond.

-[glasses clinking]
-[all] Cheers.