Cheers to Green Ideas
We invited companies and members of the public to get engaged and tell us how to make Carlsberg beer more sustainable.
Carlsberg Case Stories | Sustainability in Action
In the Carlsberg Group, we pride ourselves on our brewing expertise. But in pursuit of our aim to integrate sustainability throughout the value chain, we also recognise that we have much to gain by cooperating with and learning from others operating outside our traditional sphere. There are myriad solutions being implemented in other businesses around the world, and many of these could be adapted and used to help us advance our own sustainability ambitions. The question is, how to find them?
First Ever Crowdsourcing Campaign
In September 2015, in partnership with Copenhagen-based think tank Sustainia, we launched Cheers to Green Ideas, a crowdsourcing campaign and competition. Organisations, companies and members of the public were invited to get engaged and tell us how to make Carlsberg beer more sustainable. The ideas could relate to any aspect of beer production, from raw materials and the brewing process to transport and packaging. They also needed to inspire positive change in consumer behaviour to help drive a more sustainable future.
Encouraging Results and Valuable Lessons
It was very encouraging to see an extremely high level of engagement in the campaign from the outside world. We now have a strong feeling for what can be achieved when we join forces with other stakeholders.
Awards & Winners
Two awards were offered:
- The Cheers to Green Ideas Award ‒ aimed primarily at established companies or entrepreneurs with a viable sustainability concept
- The J.C. Jacobsen Special Award - mainly for consumers to present fun and engaging ideas that could lead to behavioural change
The winners were chosen from six finalists, selected from 162 ideas submitted in 33 countries. The jury included Carlsberg Group representatives from research & development, marketing, sustainability, innovation and supply chain. The Cheers to Green Ideas Award went to Guillermo Luque Consuegra and Michael Malott, who proposed using microalgae in, for example, wastewater treatment or the creation of biomass at the Group’s breweries. The J.C. Jacobsen Special Award went to Søen Høland Boesen. He submitted five ideas, and his winning proposals were to make lightweight crates inspired by nature and to make magnetic, biodegradable bottle caps that would be fun and engaging for the user, rather than just another piece of metal waste.
The winners, announced in December 2015 at the Sustainia Award Ceremony in Paris, received USD 20,000 and USD 10,000 respectively, and their ideas will be further explored with experts in the Carlsberg Group and our partners in the Carlsberg Circular Community.
