Budweiser knows that the way we power our world has to change, with the energy supply sector equating to 35% of global emissions. That’s why in 2017 we committed to brewing 100% of our beer with renewable electricity by 2025.

When it became clear we would achieve this goal ahead of schedule, we knew we needed to do more. Every industry has a part to play, and none more so than the hospitality industry, where up to 90% of the electricity still comes from non-renewable sources.

So as we looked for ways to scale our commitment, we saw this as our opportunity. One which took our commitment beyond our beer, beyond our business, and into us leading the transition to renewable electricity in our industry as a whole.

‘Climate change’ has become ‘climate crisis’ as people realise the sheer size of the issue our planet’s facing. Energy consumption equates to 35% of global emissions according to the UN, playing a huge role in this crisis.

Every industry has a part to play, including ours. It’s no longer enough for businesses to just cut their emissions or set targets for 10 years time. We need action now, with businesses doing all we can to play our part.

At the same time, energy prices are surging, a trend that shows little sign of slowing, hitting independent businesses hard. As prices soar, independent bars are at risk of calling last orders for the final time.

As a business with years of expertise in renewable energy and partners with independent bars around the world, Budweiser knew we needed to act.

What if our on-trade partners didn’t just see Budweiser as a beer provider, but as an energy provider too? Introducing The Budweiser Energy Collective.

For the first time in our 146 year history, we weren't just helping bars serve great tasting beer; we were helping them run on greener electricity too.

The Budweiser Energy Collective is a B2B service that leverages Budweiser’s unique scale to secure renewable electricity at hugely discounted prices. By passing those savings onto our partners we incentivised every venue in the world serving our beer to run on renewable electricity.

Now, not only is every Budweiser brewed with 100% renewable energy, but it can be enjoyed in venues that are too.

If every bar serving our beer was to be powered by 100% renewable electricity, we first needed to convince the managers of those venues to make the switch.

Our research highlighted that these bar managers wanted to reduce their impact on the planet, but the renewable energy tariffs that were available to them were more expensive than their existing deals. With the hospitality industry coming out of the toughest couple of years they’d ever faced economically, and in the midst of an energy crisis that was raising bills further, the higher cost of renewable energy made switching feel impossible.

But renewables can be cheaper, when purchased at scale. Our insight was that if bars could buy renewable electricity at the scale of Budweiser then it would dramatically lower the cost, overcoming the key barrier to renewable electricity uptake and making the switch open to all.

The Budweiser Energy Collective is founded with collaboration at its core, and partnership central to the service’s success.

1. We invest in renewable energy providers, helping them to build the infrastructure needed to reduce the cost of renewable energy.

2. We combine the buying power of Budweiser and the collective of partner bars to get renewable electricity from these providers at a hugely discounted price.

3. We help the bars around the world that serve our beer to transition to renewable electricity at heavily discounted rates by joining the The Budweiser Energy Collective.

4. The more bars that join The Budweiser Energy Collective, the more our buying power scales, the more discounted the renewable energy rate we can supply becomes.

Our impact can be seen across reduced carbon emissions and savings on partners’ energy bills.

The Collective launched in Brazil, Ireland, and the UK with 5000 bars. These members have already reduced carbon dioxide emissions by more than 291 tonnes annually and saved up to 50% on their energy bills, equating to a saving of $3.8m Brazilian Real.

Budweiser’s bold dream is that everywhere in the world that serves our beer will be powered by renewable electricity. The Budweiser Energy Collective is on track to convert 250,000 partners to renewable energy by 2025:

> Saving businesses over R$150 million (approximately USD $30 million)

> Preventing 810,000 tons of carbon dioxide emission (CO2e), equivalent to removing 675,000 cars from the road.

> Allowing the creation of $1B of incremental renewable electricity infrastructure.