The Rothaus Brewery is set to be climate-positive by 2030

Owned by the German state of Baden Württemberg, the Rothaus Brewery’s approach to combining sustainable management and climate protection is setting a strong example across their region, and Germany as a whole.

Within only seven years, Rothaus expect their dedication to, and expected 40 million euros investment in, sustainable processes will result in them consistently saving more CO2 than they produce.

By 2030, all Rothaus processes, from carefully extracting raw materials to reusing beer bottles, will avoid producing CO2. Moreover, any excess energy Rothaus creates will be passed on to neighbouring companies to help enable their climate-positive goals.

A Heartfelt Responsibility to Protect the Environment

Based in Germany’s beautiful Black Forest mountain region (which provides the pure spring water for their beers), Rothaus have long felt a deep appreciation, and responsibility, for their environment.

Rothaus understand how consistent climate protection makes sense, both ecologically and economically, and their philosophy has reflected this for decades.

Their existing environmentally-friendly processes, and ambitious climate-positive targets for the future, are already delivering tangible results.

Rothaus are leading the way for other breweries and corporations to follow.

Sustainable Processes at Rothaus

Just some of the steps Rothaus have taken, and are taking, to be climate positive by 2030...

• The Rothaus plant is steam-powered, meaning it only releases neutral carbon dioxide

• Rothaus convert the heat produced when cooling the wort* into electricity. (*The liquid extracted from the mashing process during the brewing of their beer.)

• Spent grain produced during the brewing process is passed on to local farmers for animal feed

• The membrane filtration system used in Rothaus’ biological water treatment plant is of such a high quality, it enables the brewery to return its effluence (liquid waste produced during the brewing process) to Baden Wurttemberg’s Mettma River as European standard ‘bathing water’

• Rothaus bottles are regularly returned to the brewery and, via state-of-the-art systems, sorted, washed, and re-filled with beer - up to forty times each! Check the white rings around the bottle - the more pronounced the ring, the more times the bottle has been re-filled. (More on the Rothaus sorting and filling process here)

• The water tank used by the Rothaus bottle washing system is heated (up to 120 °C) by solar energy collected by panels on the brewery’s roof (more on this here)

• Since early 2021, Rothaus has been converting their fleet of over twenty-five vehicles from diesel to electric. They now utilise at least five electric vehicles and even an electric forklift. Once complete, this conversion is expected to save 280 tonnes of CO2 per year. Their eight-tonne electric forklift alone will save 220 tons of CO2 per year

• In a major step towards their climate-positive 2030 target, Rothaus opened their new photovoltaic system (converting thermal energy into electricity) in 2022. Rothaus invested 1.75 million euros in the 9000 metre square system of photovoltaic panels (installed on the roofs of their brewery buildings) to harness the power of the Black Forest sun. (More on this project here)

• Rothaus is due to complete the construction of their anaerobic sewage treatment plant in 2023. This new plant will save over 100,000 litres of heating oil per year – an expected saving of approximately 300 tons of CO2 per year

• Rothaus is working closely with its regional suppliers (of, such as, malt, barley and glass) to help ensure their cultivation and production processes are also carbon neutral

Rothaus Beer: The Environmentally Friendly Choice

When you select a Rothaus beer, you’re not only selecting a delicious German beer, you’re supporting a brewery genuinely dedicated to protecting the environment.

Rothaus’ region of Baden Württemberg is aiming to be climate-positive by 2040. Rothaus is pulling out all the stops to beat that target by a full decade and be demonstrably climate-positive by 2030.

Their established practices of responsibly sourcing all-natural ingredients from their region, and installing CO2-saving processes across their brewery, have paved the way for them to succeed.

To many, ‘climate-positive by 2030’ would be an ambitious aim. To Rothaus, it’s more than just an aim, it’s a responsibility.

As lovers of Rothaus’ beer, we can be proud of the impact they (and we) have.