Red Stripe: friend of the environment

Red Stripe has been recognised by the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) as a company that takes active steps to protect the environment. The company won the Environmental Protection Award at the JCC's recent 32nd annual awards ceremony held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel.

The award comes in the wake of several key measures put in place which demonstrated that the company was thinking and acting 'green' in its manufacturing process. Chief among them was the commissioning of a US$7-million Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant, which provides the brewery with electrical power and hot and cold water from one source. The CHP plant reduces the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide by approximately 50 per cent.

waste reduction

Red Stripe's other environmentally friendly steps include efficient water use, saving almost 200 million litres of water. There has also been a 26 per cent reduction in the amount of waste sent to the landfill because of the vigilance in the company's process of omitting, recycling, reducing, reusing and disposing of its waste.

Red Stripe also uses energy-efficient lighting and motion sensors in washrooms, and ensures all electrical equipment such as air-conditioning units and monitors are turned off nightly to conserve energy.

"It is a very rewarding feeling to be recognised by the JCC for being an environmentally friendly company. It is a key measure of success for us, and the Environmental Protection Award validates our work," said Shane Healy, head of supply, Red Stripe.