Barley “goes green” as Suntory Group and Muntons unite to cut CO2 in production

28 Nov 2022 --- Japanese beverage giant Suntory Group and UK-based malt supplier Muntons will collaborate on a joint exploration of how to reduce CO2 emissions of barley by 50% within the next five years.

Also involved in the initiative are supply chain consultancy Future Food Solutions and Dewing Grain.

With global warming affecting different crop yields globally, significant players within the cereal space are keen to future-proof their industry.

Jointly exploring the possibilities for producing healthy yields of barley while reducing the carbon footprint of production will benefit all, say those involved in this collaboration. 

“A report from the BIER industry roundtable group indicates that malt contributes a significant proportion of around 39% of beer’s carbon footprint when in glass bottles and 41% for whisky. Suntory’s own calculations estimate that 40% of the carbon footprint of their beer and whisky is directly related to the agricultural process,” Adrian Dyter, head of technical and procurement for Muntons tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

Dyter stresses the value of collaboration and defined, achievable targets.

“Since COP26, the number of companies setting science-based targets has doubled. Over 1,800 companies now have validated targets. Nearly 4,000 have committed to setting them. Despite this, more needs to be done collaboratively and we are eager to share our learnings,” he says.

Exploring CO2 reduction 
Suntory Group is keen to place the focus on its desire to put regenerative agriculture as a core solution.

Suntory Group hopes to future-proof its crucial barley crops.

“Thriving agricultural systems are crucial to our business and we place regenerative agriculture as one of the core solutions in transitioning to sustainable agricultural practices,” says Brian Golden, senior general manager of Suntory Monozukuri Initiative at Suntory Holdings.

“We will further our collaboration with various supply chain partners to procure more sustainably and to decarbonize our value chain.” 

Muntons is developing the first stage of the collaboration, which involves calculating the current baseline of barley CO2 emissions. This data will then inform future efforts to reduce barley GHG emissions. 

“Muntons sees the importance of taking a practical and holistic view to reducing GHG emissions and we’re proud to have been the first maltster to develop a carbon calculator to help identify where the biggest impact of reductions can be made,” explains Adrian Dyter, head of procurement and technical at Muntons.

Dewing Grain flags the importance of significant players taking proactive leadership in combating global warming.

“With the trial covering a huge amount of acreage, it has the potential to generate some really positive outcomes for the environment and demonstrate farming’s vital role in mitigating climate change,” adds Josh Dewing, trading director at Dewing Grain.

Regenerative agriculture 
The pilot program began this year with the 2022 autumn crop-sowing. Sixteen farmers are committing approximately 400 acres to produce barley from spring and winter varieties.

Dyter champions regenerative agriculture not just for its positive effect on the environment, but also for its financial benefits.

“Regenerative agriculture encourages farmers to employ methods that naturally improve the nutrient levels, texture and water content of the surface layers of the soil without reliance on costly artificial fertilizers and deep cultivation methods.” he explains. 

“Instead, the use of a range of cover crops that hold nutrients in the soil and condition it, thereby reducing the requirement for further cultivation prior to sowing the malting barley seed. Further financial benefits can be achieved where livestock are used to graze off the cover crops reducing reliance on bought in feed.”

The collaboration plans to reduce barley CO2 emissions by 50% within the next three years.The project uses Munton’s carbon calculator to provide a baseline of all crop-produced emissions. This data is then used to inform methods to reduce emissions, enhance soil health and protect water while maintaining crop performance and grain quality. 

Sustainable farming methods being trialed include inter-row cropping, growing cover crop mixes and using less invasive measures to optimize nitrogen use by soil. 

The pilot outcomes will be measured by the amount of CO2 sequestered by the soil and the reduction of nitrogen required by the crop to produce a healthy yield. 

Suntory Group's efforts come at a time when the rapid onset of climate change has seriously impacted various crop outputs globally and the on-going difficulties concerning wheat.

Muntons recently posited its barley and wheat malts as an ideal ingredient for plant-based meat. 

Similarly, London’s Natural History Museum has been tapped to help develop a wheat strain more resistant to climate change. The museum’s 8000+ specimens of grain may, the project hopes, contain the secret to unlocking a sustainable future for our crops. 

By James Davies