New Belgium Brewing: Ethical and Environmental Responsibility

Although most of the companies frequently cited as examples of honest and friendlyly accountable firms argon galactic corporations, it is the social responsibility initiatives of sm wholly businesses that often have the greatest impact on local communities and resemblances. These businesses cause jobs and provide goods and services for customers in smaller markets that larger corporations often are not interested in serving. Moreover, they alike contri savee property, resources, and volunteer time to local causes.Their avouchers often fare as community and neighborhood leaders, and servicemany choose to apply their skills and around of the fruits of their success to tackling local problems and issues that benefit everyone in the community. Managers and employees blend in utilization models for ethical and socially responsible actions. One such small business is the saucily Belgium Brewing gild, Inc. , establish in Fort Collins, Colorado. History of the unfermented Be lgium Brewing Company The idea for the young Belgium Brewing Company began with a bicycling trip through Belgium.Belgium is arguably the home of some of the worlds finest ales, some of which have been brewed for centuries in that countrys monasteries. As Jeff Lebesch, an Ameri whoremonger electrical engineer, cruised around that country on his fat-tired mountain bike, he wondered if he could produce such high-quality beers back home in Colorado. After getting the special strain of yeast used to brew Belgian-style ales, Lebesch returned home and began to experiment in his Colorado basement. When his beers realise thumbs up from friends, Lebesch decided to market them.The bran-new Belgium Brewing Company (NBB) opened for business in 1991 as a tiny basement operation in Lebeschs home in Fort Collins. Lebeschs wife, Kim Jordan, became the firms marketing director. They named their first brew luscious wear thin Amber Ale in remark of Lebeschs bike ride through Belgium. upstart Be lgium beers quickly developed a small but devoted customer base, first in Fort Collins and then throughout Colorado. The brewery soon outgrew the twins basement and moved into an old railroad depot before settling into its present custom facility in 1995.The brewery includes an automated brewhouse, two quality assurance labs, and numerous technological innovations for which New Belgium has become nationally recognized as a paradigm of environmental efficiencies. Today, New Belgium Brewing Company eat upers a variety of permanent and seasonal ales and pilsners. The orders standard line includes Sunshine Wheat, Blue 1 O. C. Ferrell 2006. We appreciate the work of Nikole Haiar in helping draft the previous edition of this baptistry, and Melanie Drever who assisted in this edition.This case was ca-cad for classroom discussion, rather than to illustrate either effective of ineffective handling of an administrative, ethical or legal decision by management. All sources used for thi s case were obtained through publicly available natural and the New Belgium website. Paddle Pilsner, Abbey Ale, Trippel Ale, 1554 Black Ale, and the original Fat peter out Amber Ale, still the firms best-seller. Some customers even refer to the participation as the Fat Tire Brewery. The brewery in like manner markets two types of enduringness beers on a seasonal basis.Seasonal ales include Frambozen and Abbey Grand Cru, which are outletd at Thanksgiving, and Christmas and Farmhouse Ale, which are exchange during the early fall months. The firm occasionally offers one-time- and brews, such as LaFolie, a wood-aged beer, which are change only until the batch runs out. Until 2005, NBBs most effective form of advertizing has been its customers word of mouth. Indeed, before New Belgium beers were astray distributed throughout Colorado, one liquor store owner in Telluride is purported to have offered people gas money if they would stop by and pick up New Belgium beer on their way through Ft.Collins. Although New Belgium beers are distributed in just one-third of the United States, the brewery receives numerous e-mails and phone calls every day inquiring when its beers bequeath be available elsewhere. With expanding distribution, however, the brewery recognized a need to increase its opportunities for reaching its far-flung customers. It consulted with Dr. David Holt, an Oxford professor and stigmatisation expert. After studying the young fellowship, Holt, together with Marketing handler Greg Owsley, drafted a 70-page manifesto describing the dishonors attributes, character, cultural relevancy, and promise.In particular, Holt identified in New Belgium an ethos of pursuing creative activities simply for the joy of doing them closely and in harmony with the natural environment. With the pock thus defined, New Belgium went in search of an advertising elbow room to help communicate that brand identity it soon found Amalgamated, an equally young, independen t New York advertising agency. Amalgamated created a $10 million advertising campaign for New Belgium that targets high-end beer drinkers, men ages 25 to 44 and highlights the brewerys image as being down to earth.The grainy ads localize on a man reconstruction a cruiser bike out of used parts and then riding it on pastoral country roads. The product appears in just five seconds of each ad between the shred lines, Follow Your Folly Ours Is Beer. The ads helped position the growing brand as whimsical, thoughtful, and reflective. In addition to the ad campaign, the social club maintained its strategy of promotion through event sponsorships. New Belgium Ethical culture According to Greg Owsley Director of Marketing for New Belgium Brewing beyond a desire for advertising and promotion ethics at that place is a fundamental focus on the ethical culture of the brand.Although consumer suspicion of business is on amply raised eyebrow, those in good standing- as opposed to those tradi ng on hype- are eyed with iconic-like adoration. From this off polarization comes a new paradigm in which businesses that fully embrace citizenship in the community they serve kitty forge enduring bonds with customers. Meanwhile, these are precarious times for businesses that choose to ignore consumers looking at brands from an ethical perspective. More than ever before, what the brand says and what the company does must be synchronized.NBB believes the mandate for bodily social responsibility gains momentum beyond the courtroom to the far more powerful marketplace, any current and future manager of business must realize that business ethics are not so overmuch about the installation of compliance codes and standards as they are about the spirit in which they are integrated. Thus, the modern-day brand steward- usually the most externally focused member of the business management team- must prepare to be the internal champion of the bottom line necessity for ethical, determine- driven company behavior.At New Belgium, a synergy of brand and values occurred naturally as the firms ethical culture- in the form of core values and beliefs- and was in place long before NBB had a marketing department. Back in early 1991, New Belgium was just a home-brewed business plan of Jeff Lesbesch, an electrical engineer, and his social worker wife, Kim Jordan. Before they sign(a) any business musical compositionwork, the two took a hike into Rocky luck National Park. Armed with a pen, and a notebook they took their first stab at what the fledgling companys core purpose would be.If they were going forward-moving with this venture, what were their aspirations beyond profitability? What was the real root cause of their dream? What they wrote down that spring day, give or take a little wordsmithing, was the core values and beliefs you can read on the NBB website today. More important, study just about any New Belgium worker, and she or he can list for you many, if not all, t hese divided values and can inform you which are the most personally poignant. For NBB branding strategies are as root in our company values as in other business practices.New Belgiums aim and Core Beliefs New Belgiums dedication to quality, the environment, and its employees and customers is expressed in its explosive charge statement To operate a profitable brewery which makes our love and talent manifest. The companys stated core values and beliefs about its theatrical role as an environmentally perplexityed and socially responsible brewer include . Producing world-class beers . Promoting beer culture and the responsible enjoyment of beer . Continuous, innovative quality and efficiency improvements . Transcending customers expectations Environmental stewardship minimizing resource consumption, maximizing energy efficiency, and cycle . nerve social, environmental, and cultural change as a business role model . Cultivating potential through learning, participative ma nagement, and the hobby of opportunities . Balancing the myriad needs of the company, staff, and their families . Committing ourselves to authentic relationships, communications, and promises . Having Fun. Employees, believe that these statements help communicate to customers and ther stakeholders what New Belgium, as a company, is about. These simple values developed 15 socio-economic classs ago are just as substantive to the company and its customers today even though there has been much growth. Employee Concerns Recognizing employees role in the companys success, New Belgium provides many generous benefits. In addition to the usual paid health and dental redress and retirement plans, employees get a free lunch every other week as intumesce as a free massage once a year, and they can bring their children and dogs to work.Employees who stay with the company for five years earn an all-expenses paid trip to Belgium to study beer culture. Perhaps most importantly, employees c an also earn stock in the privately held corporation, which grants them a vote in company decisions. New Bel-giums employees now own one-third of the growing brewery. Open book management lets employees see the financial cost and performance. Environmental Concerns New Belgiums marketing strategy involves linking the quality of its products, as well as their brand, with the companys philosophy toward affecting the planet.From leadingedge environmental gadgets and high-tech industry advancements to employeeownership programs and a strong belief in giving back to the community, New Belgium demonstrates its desire to create a living, learning community. NBB strives for cost-efficient energy-saving alternatives to conducting its business and reduce its impact on the environment. In staying true to the companys core values and beliefs, the brewerys employee-owners unanimously agreed to invest in a wind turbine, making New Belgium the first fully wind-powered brewery in the United States .Since the switch from coal power, New Belgium has been able to reduce its CO2 emissions by 1,800 metric heaps per year. The company further reduces its energy use by employing a steam condenser that captures and employs the hot water supply that boils the barley and hops in the production process to start the next brew. The steam is redirected to heat the cornerstone tiles and de-ice the loading docks in cold weather. Another way that NBB conserves energy is by development sun tubes, which provide natural daytime lighting throughout the brew house all year long.New Belgium also takes pride in reducing waste through recycling and creative reuse strategies. The company strives to recycle as many supplies as possible, including cardboard boxwoodes, keg caps, office materials, and the amber sugarcoat used in bottling. The brewery also stores spent barley and hop grains in an on-premise silo and invites local farmers to pick up the grains, free of charge, to feed their pigs. NBB even encourages its employees to reduce air pollution by using alternative transportation.As an incentive, NBB gives its employees cruiser bikes like the one pictured on its Fat Tire Amber Ale label later one year of employment and encourages them to ride to work. New Belgium has been a long-time participant in green building techniques. With each expansion of the facility they have incorporated new technologies and learned a few lessons on the way. In 2002, NB agreed to participate in the United States Green Building Councils Leadership in Energy and Environment Design for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) pilot program.From sun tubes and daylighting throughout the facility to reusing heat in the brewhouse, they continue to search for new ways to close loops and conserve resources. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle- the third Rs of being an environmental steward. The reuse program includes heat for the brewing process, cleaning chemicals, water and much more. Recycling at New Belgium takes on ma ny forms, from turning waste products into something new and useful (like spent grain to cattle feed), to admiting the recycling market in creative ways (like turning their keg caps into table surfaces).They also buy recycled whenever they can, from paper to office furniture. Reduction surrounds them from motion sensors on the lights throughout the building to induction fans that pull in quiet winter air to chill their beer offsetting their energy needs is the cornerstone to being environmentally efficient. Social Concerns beyond its use of environment-friendly technologies and innovations, New Belgium Brewing Company strives to improve communities and enhance peoples lives through corporate giving, event sponsorship, and philanthropic involvement. Since its inception, NBB has donated more than 1. million dollars to organizations in the communities in which they do business. For every barrel of beer sold the prior year, NB donates $1 to philanthropic causes within their distribu tion territory. The donations are divided between states in proportion to their percentage of overall sales. This is their way of staying local and giving back to the communities who support and purchase NB products. In 2006, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Washington and Wyoming authentic funding.Funding decisions are made by the NB kindliness committee, which is comprised of employees throughout the brewery including owners, employee owners, area leaders and production workers. New Belgium looks for non-profit organizations that demonstrate creativity, diversity and an innovative approach to their mission and objectives. The Philanthropy committee also looks for groups that involve the community to reach their goals. NBB also maintains a community bare board in its facility where it posts an array of community involvement activities and proposals.This community board allows tourists and empl oyees to see the distinguishable ways they can help out the community, and it gives nonprofit organizations a chance to make their needs known. Organizations can even apply for grants through the New Belgium Brewing Company Web site, which has a link designated for this purpose. NBB also sponsors a number of events, with a special focus on those that involve human-powered sports that cause minimal monetary value to the natural environment. Through event sponsorships, such as the Tour de Fat, NBB supports various environmental, social, and cycling nonprofit organizations.New Belgium also sponsored the MS 150 Best Damn Bike Tour, a two-day, fully catered bike tour, from which all proceeds went to benefit more than five thousand local people with multiple sclerosis. NBB also sponsored the irritate the Rockies bike tour, which donated the proceeds from beer sales to local nonprofit groups. The money raised from this annual event money local projects, such as improving parks and bike trails. In the course of one year, New Belgium can be found at anywhere from 150 to 200 festivals and events, across all cardinal western states. Organizational SuccessNew Belgium Brewing Companys efforts to live up to its own high standards have paid off with numerous awards and a very loyal following. It was one of three winners of Business Ethics magazines Business Ethics Awards for its dedication to environmental excellence in every part of its innovative brewing process. It also won an honorable mention in the go bad Business Bureaus 2002 Torch Award for Outstanding food market Ethics competition. Kim Jordan and Jeff Lebesch were named the recipients of the Rocky Mountain Region Entrepreneur of the Year Award for manufacturing.The company also captured the award for best mid-sized brewing company of the year and best mid-sized brewmaster at the Great American Beer Festival. In addition, New Belgium took home medals for three variant brews, Abbey Belgian Style Ale, Blue Pa ddle Pilsner, and LaFolie specialty ale. According to David Edgar, director of the Institute for Brewing Studies, Theyve created a very positive image for their company in the beer-consuming public with smart decision-making. Although some members of society do not believe that a company whose major product is alcohol can be socially responsible, New Belgium has set out to prove that for those who make a choice to drink responsibly, the company can do everything possible to contribute to society. Its efforts to promote beer culture and the connoisseurship of beer has even led it to design a special Worthy Glass, the shape of which is intended to retain foam, show off color, enhance the visual presentation, and release aroma.New Belgium Brewing Company also promotes the responsible appreciation of beer through its participation in and support of the culinary arts. For instance, it frequently hosts New Belgium Beer Dinners, in which every course of the meal is served with a complement ary culinary treat. According to Greg Owsley Director of Marketing although the Fat Tire brand has a bloodline straight from the enterprises ethical beliefs and practices, the firms work is not done. They must continually re-examine ethical, social and environmental responsibilities.In 2004, New Belgium received the Environmental Protection Agencys regional Environmental Achievement Award. It was both an honor and a motivator not to rest on our naturally raised laurels. There are still many ways for NB to improve as a corporate citizen. They still dont produce an organic beer. The manufacturing process is a fair(a) distance from being zero waste or emission free. There will always be a need for more public dialogue on avoiding alcohol abuse. Practically speaking, they have a neverending to-do list.NBB also must acknowledge that as their annual sales increase, the challenges for the brand to remain on a human scale and culturally authentic will increase too. How to boldly grow the b rand while maintaining its humble tone has always been a challenge. Every six-pack of New Belgium Beer displays the phrase, In this box is our labor of love, we feel incredibly lucky to be creating something fine that enhances peoples lives. Although Jeff Lebesch has semi-retired from the company to focus on other interests, the founders of New Belgium hope this statement captures the spirit of the company.According to employee Dave Kemp, NBBs environmental concern and social responsibility give it a competitive advantage because consumers want to believe in and feel good about the products they purchase. NBBs most important asset is its imagea corporate brand that stands for quality, responsibility, and concern for society. Defining itself as more than just a beer company, the brewer also sees itself as a caring organization that is concerned with all stakeholders, including the community, the environment, and employees.Sources These facts are from Greg Owsley, The Necessity For A ligning Brand With Corporate Ethics, in Sheb L. True, Linda Ferrell, O. C. Ferrell, Fulfiling Our Obligation, Perspectives on Teaching Business Ethics, Kennesaw State University Press 2005. p. 128-132. New Belgium website http//www. newbelgium. com/sustainability. php. and http//www. newbelgium. com/philanthropy. php. 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