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Trappist Monk Brewery Embraces Water Sustainability Practices
Companies all over the world need to start prioritising business water saving strategies if we’re to safeguard this particular resource for future generations.
It’s certainly no secret that water scarcity is a growing problem on a global scale – and given reports like the most recent JRC study revealing that flooding and water scarcity are both projected to increase even if we do hit the Paris Agreement targets of keeping global temperature increases below 2 degrees C, action must be taken now.
Businesses are perhaps best placed to lead the charge, so if you’re keen to start doing your bit as a company, why not take a leaf out of Koningshoeven Abbey’s book and see what changes you can make to your operations that will help prioritise water security now and well into the future.
According to the Guardian, the Cistercian monastery is one of just 13 places in the entire world that brews Trappist beer – and it’s now the first brewery in western Europe to build a plant-based water filtration system, removing the need to use seven litres of water for every litre of beer produced.
Ferns and sub-tropical plants have been sat above bins of wastewater in a big greenhouse, with the interaction between microorganisms on the roots and the bacteria in the water purifying it for reuse.
Father Isaac explained: “We are praying seven times a day to praise the Lord for his creation, but we were not working in the right way to stop pollution. We have had to translate our faith into sustainability.”
It’s hoped that this system, which has been officially consecrated, will purify approximately 450,000 litres of water every seven hours when it’s fully up and running – without requiring any human intervention whatsoever.
While it may not be appropriate for you to have this kind of water filtration system installed at your place of business, there is still much you can to do to follow the monks’ example and focus on water conservation right now.
What about looking into water leak detection and repair, for example? You can arrange to have a full site survey carried out to identify leaks of any size so that repair work can be planned out as appropriate. This will prevent water wastage, so benefiting the environment, but will also help to reduce your water bills each month as well.
Or you could have a water audit, where expert analysts compare your water use, including volumes, with what your supplier is charging you for. Recommendations can then be made as to how you can reduce your water usage and lower your costs.
Automated meter reading could also prove beneficial, a technique used to continuously monitor water usage across an entire site. If you’d like to find out more about any of these, get in touch with us today.