A Non-Profitable Organization in the United States – Go Eat Give, shared that Sustainability is the major challenge for the beverage industry, which is causing heavy losses to certain factors of the economy.
Go Eat Give is a nonprofit organization founded in 2012. It blogs to raise awareness of different cultures through sustainable travel, food, and community service to the people.
According to the Go Eat Give organization, the challenges to the beverage industry are causing due to issues such as waste production, employment practices, ingredients and byproducts.
The Go Eat Give also shared the report by the Glass Packaging Institute, which says, glass bottles have an average recycling rate of 33.1% in the United States, which is higher than the overall recycling rate for all materials. However, there is still room for improvement, and the beverage industry can work to increase glass recycling rates even further by promoting and investing in glass recycling infrastructure.
Another issue facing the industry is employment practices. The Go Eat Give described the rising poverty rates. They shared that Women could make up nearly half of the global beverage workforce, but there are concerns about low wages, poor working conditions, and child labour. Beverage companies can take steps to improve working conditions, wages, and benefits for their workers, particularly in developing countries.
Byproducts are another area where the industry can make strides towards Sustainability.
Meanwhile, there are certain ways to improvise the beverage industry. The Go Eat Give shared that Spending grains from beer brewing and fruit pulp from juice production are two examples of byproducts that can be repurposed. There are also emerging technologies that can convert beverage industry byproducts into new products, such as biofuels and bioplastics.
There are also many ingredients used in beverage production, such as sugar, cocoa and coffee, that are associated with environmental and social issues such as deforestation, soil degradation, and poor working conditions. Therefore, the Sustainability of beverage ingredients is another major challenge facing the industry.
The organization also shared the story of the famous tequila distiller from the town of Tequila, Mexico and their charitable arm, Mundo Cuervo Fundación Beckmann, is an inspiring example of how Sustainability can create a lasting impact while preserving cultural traditions and protecting the environment. By maximizing the utilization of the agave plant, the foundation provided women in the community with a valuable source of income, helped address poverty and reused glass bottles and byproducts.