Drinking beer the "green" way?

When I want a beer, I don’t want to be reminded of how much I’m helping to ruin the climate. But that situation might be unavoidable in the future…through printed, converted labeling. Why?

Sapporo Breweries said last Thursday that it will start test-marketing beer with "carbon footprint" labels on cans. It’s the Japanese brewery’s latest attempt to show its concern about global warming.

According to Sapporo, the labels will show the amount of carbon dioxide emitted during the production process of each can of beer, all the way from operating agricultural machinery to grow barley and hops to recycling the empty can. The labels will go on 350-ml cans of Sapporo’s main brand, Black Label beer. Sapporo said it can calculate CO2 emissions as it secures barley and hops through contracts with farms across the world.

If this market test succeeds, be prepared for similar moves by other breweries around the world. It’s bound to be a big hit across Europe next as many EU countries like to give plenty of lip service to global warming. And now that Belgium-based InBev bought Anheuser-Busch, I’d suspect Budweiser and/or Bud Light might soon sport similar "carbon footprint" labeling.

I guess one good thing to come out of this trend is that the "carbon footprint" numbers might have to change regularly based on changing amounts of CO2 actually emitted. That should bring in plenty of new label-printing business for converters.