Sustainability – HPA

BarthHaas Global Sustainability Report 2020/2021

Pixel3 — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 05:14:55 +0000

The BarthHaas group has come together to publish our first global sustainability report. It highlights initiatives the sustainability teams at BarthHaas, Haas and HPA have accomplished in the past few years, and what we have planned for the future.

The group’s regional sustainability teams have increased communication and collaboration, sharing ideas, knowledge and resources that will inspire new initiatives and push innovation on a global scale. They plan to continue working together moving forward and see collaboration as a strength in establishing aligned sustainability strategies, while also holding each other accountable for accomplishing the goals they have set.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges faced by hop growers. The BarthHaas group is focusing efforts on reducing our environmental footprint so that future generations can continue to farm successfully. The group has been working side by side with our farms to develop hop varieties that ensure a supply security for our brewing customers. As a signatory to the UN Global Compact we pledge to operate responsibly in the global fight against climate change, inequality and poverty.

For the first time in the group’s history, we have produced a sustainability report for every continent on which we operate. The highlights of these individual reports have been combined in the global sustainability report, which includes a detailed inventory of all emissions.

Responsible service of water

Pixel3 — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 07:40:07 +0000

Our farms are more than fields, poles, strings and hops. They are our communities, customers and employees future. As the largest hop grower in Australia it’s important for us to consider the economic, environmental and social impact of every decision we make, which is why we are working toward a sustainability strategy that complies with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) responsible and ethical business standards.

The efficient and effective use of water is one piece of our sustainability strategy. Although our farms have been established upon land where the soil is rich and the water supply is abundant, we value the natural resources that ensure our success, and strive to manage them responsibly. This includes the use of a cloud-based irrigation system that continuously monitors soil moisture levels to ensure we only use as much water as we need to deliver high quality hops to brewers, while conserving the rest to support the local flora, fauna and recreation.

In order to produce one of the highest yielding hop crops in the world while conserving as much water as possible, we need to continually assess our net irrigation needs. This process involves calculating the maximum evapotranspiration (ie. total losses due to transpiration and evaporation from the soil) using climate data and our knowledge of the crop needs during critical growth stages. By following evaporation rates from the previous week versus historical climate data, the weather forecast, the current soil moisture status, the age and growth stage of a crop, we can accurately predict our irrigation needs for the week ahead throughout the growing season.

We use a predictive model that utilises an array of Australian Bureau of Meterology (BoM) data relating to our farms in order to forecast the evapotranspiration for the week ahead. Knowing the forecast rate of water loss from our fields, we are well placed to efficiently and effectively manage the resources available to us.

The amount of water our crop needs is dependent on the age of the crop and the growth stage it is in. Young crops typically need less water than more established crops, while both will need increasingly more water as they move through the critical growth stages. This is known as ‘crop factor’. We multiply the evaporation rate by the ‘crop factor’ to accurately schedule irrigation for the week ahead.

Evapotranspiration of the growing season in 2019

We also have in-field soil moisture monitoring probes on our farms that take a reading every ten minutes in 10cm intervals from 5cm to 85cm in depth. These readings are logged to a cloud-based server that our Farm Managers and Agronomists can view remotely, in real time over the course of the growing season.

Using our in-field soil moisture monitoring probes, we can also track the influence of irrigation, variance in plant uptake and rainfall. This allows us to apply the optimum amount of irrigation on a field-by-field basis. Irrigation optimisation is particularly important as too much water causes our crop to become water-logged resulting in overall yield loss, while not enough water causes our crop to go into shock resulting in photosynthesis shutting down and overall yield loss.

Real time readings from cloud-based soil moisture monitoring and irrigation optimisation technology in 2019

We have been using soil moisture monitoring and irrigation optimisation technology for nearly 20 years, and we will continue to invest, develop and refine our processes to ensure we keep managing the natural resources we use responsibly.

International

Owen Johnston

owen.johnston@hops.com.au

0400 126 015

National, NSW & ACT

Michael Capaldo

michael.capaldo@hops.com.au

0490 441 090

TAS & NZ

Adrian Ianculovici

adrian.ianculovici@hops.com.au

0498 648 770

WA, SA & NT

Brad Nolen

brad.nolen@hops.com.au

0417 397 364

QLD

Simeon Bonetti

simeon.bonetti@hops.com.au

0490 489 007

VIC

Phil Rutjens

phil.rutjens@hops.com.au

0421 944 849

Sustainable string theory

Pixel3 — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 09:25:00 +0000

More than 3 million strings were deployed to support crop 2019. If they were laid end-to-end they would stretch more than 20,285km, which is roughly half the Earth’s circumference. This sheer quantity means sourcing sustainable strings is becoming more and more important, particularly as our Victorian expansion progresses and the new plantings begin to mature.

We choose to use coir strings. Coir is often thought of as a low-value by-product of coconut production. In most cases, the husks are left on the field, but a small portion are used to produce brushes, brooms, mats, mattresses and string. It is well suited to our farming operations because it has one of the highest concentrations of lignin, making it stronger and better able to withstand all kinds of weather than most natural fibres. It is also 100% biodegradable, which means the strings can be mulched alongside the spent bines and returned to our paddocks where they help to improve soil fertility, retain soil moisture and suppress weeds.

Despite its comparatively low trade value, coir provides significant economic support to populations in regional areas of India and Sri Lanka where women are particularly dependent on its production for their livelihood. Our Horticulture and Sustainability Manager Oliver Ward recently visited these areas to tour our string suppliers’ facilities and ensure they are able to ethically and sustainably meet our increasing production requirements.

The majority of our strings come from Hayley Fibre in Sri Lanka, who are ISO 9001:2015 compliant and a UN Global Compact participant. The remainder of our strings come from Koralage Fibre Exporters in Sri Lanka and Ceres Fibre in India, both of whom are ethical family businesses with a high standard of manufacturing practices. All three suppliers demonstrated a high degree of professionalism as well as good governance, ethics and manufacturing practices. They also have the prospects and ambition to grow sustainably alongside us, which allows us to move toward a more sustainable future with confidence.

To further demonstrate our commitment to a more sustainable future, we have agreed to join the UN Global Compact alongside the other regional representatives of BarthHaas. This is a global initiative that offers businesses a framework to help them incorporate sustainability into their operations, as well as manage and measure their performance against universal management principles linked to the environment, human rights and anti-corruption. Together, we are taking a shared responsibility for a better world by setting meaningful targets and implementing projects across the group’s global network.

Biosecurity is everybody’s business

Pixel3 — Thu, 13 Feb 2020 09:35:46 +0000

Biosecurity plays a critical role in the Australian hop industry. It keeps our hops free from the world’s most damaging pests and diseases.

Managing biosecurity is the shared responsibility of our staff and every visitor to our farms, as people can unintentionally carry pests, diseases and weeds without even realising.

To limit the risk of these threats to our hops, we ask our visitors to:

Ensure vehicles, equipment and clothing are clean and free from pests and other plant material prior to their visit
Park in the designated areas
Sign the visitor register, clean and disinfect boots at the farm office immediately upon arrival

The biosecurity legislation of each Australian state and territory enforces restrictions on the movement of certain items to protect their unique environments and valuable agricultural markets.

In Victoria, Rostrevor Hop Gardens and Buffalo River Valley are protected by legislation that is focused on preventing any biosecurity emergencies that could affect Victoria and Australia.

In Tasmania, Bushy Park Estates is protected by the island’s natural barrier from mainland Australia and overseas, as well as some of the strictest biosecurity legislation in the world. This is enforced by biosecurity officers and detector dogs. In particular, fresh fruit and vegetables, cut flowers, plants, animal and fish products, seeds, soil and other agriculture related products are restricted or prohibited from entering the state. Pests, diseases and weeds may also travel unseen in mud, or lodged in the crevices of recreational machinery, vehicles and other gear. For this reason, it is important these items are checked, cleaned, disinfected and dried before entering Tasmania.

Fortunately for our international visitors, we are assisted by the Australian Government who operate across the whole biosecurity continuum with offshore, border and onshore measures. They ensure all international travelers and their baggage are screened upon arrival in the country, using x-ray machines, detector dogs, physical inspection and questioning. To ensure you are prepared, check what to do:

You should also check what goods you can bring into Australia each time you travel as import conditions can change. For border clearance do not carry any fresh fruit or vegetables, plants, seeds, meat, animal or wood products, and ensure that your footwear, sporting and recreational equipment is dry and soil free.

Help keep our hops disease free, so you can continue making great tasting beer.

Stop the import of damaging pests and diseases

Pixel3 — Tue, 30 Jun 2020 11:40:28 +0000

The Australian hop industry is fortunate to be free from many damaging pests and diseases that affect hop production overseas. Protecting this enviable status should be an absolute priority since their import could cost growers millions in lost production, unacceptable brewing quality, control and containment programs. While federal, state and territory governments are responsible for all pre and post-border biosecurity measures, their personnel are generalists rather than experts. This means onus is on the hop industry to manage any risks associated with the import of hop propagation material. We need to work together to ensure all growers abide by the import conditions, know the key threats, remain vigilant and report suspected incursions.

Despite the fact there are prescribed pre and post-border biosecurity measures in place, it’s very difficult to import hop propagation material safely, even when the import conditions are followed to the letter. The import conditions for hop propagation material are available on the Biosecurity Import Conditions (BICON) system, and include a valid permit, virus-free certification, establishment and disease screening at a government owned quarantine facility. Failure to abide by these import conditions exposes all stakeholders in the hop industry to high levels of risk and may result in a hefty fine or even jail time.

The Australian hop industry is fortunate to be free from damaging pests and diseases that affect growers overseas, but two-spotted mites and other arthropod pests do occur. In the case of two-spotted mites biological control is sometimes possible with the resident population of predatory mites, such as Phytoseilis persimillis, and other beneficial insects that are available for purchase and release from Biological Services.

There are currently no antifungals registered or permitted for use on hops anywhere in Australia. The onus is on growers to take all necessary precautions to stop the import of key fungal, viral and viroid pathogens in Table 1.

Table 1. Key fungal, viral and viroid pathogens that present a threat to the Australian hop industry

PATHOGEN	SYMPTOMS	OUTCOMES	MANAGEMENT
Citrus Bark Cracking Viroid	Also referred to as severe hop stunt viroid due to its much shorter incubation period. Early season growth is delayed causing the length of internodes to be reduced by as much as two-thirds. The cones on the sparse and shortened laterals are smaller and development is slower. Visible symptoms only take up to one growing season to appear after initial infection.	Caused severe mortality in hops in Slovenia.	Can only be eradicated from the soil by long fallow periods prior to replanting, which would cause major problems since Australia has very limited land available for hop production.
Downy Mildew	Stunted, brittle shoots with downward curling leaves. A distinctive yellowing beginning at the centre of infected leaves may be present before purple to black spores on their underside can be observed.	Caused upheaval in the hop industry in the 1990s. Can result in severe crop damage, and in some cases complete crop failure if significant infection and crown rot occurs.	Infected bines must be manually removed and healthy shoots retrained in their place. No single management tactic provides satisfactory control. Strict attention to growth, prudent irrigation management and timely antifungal applications are needed to manage the disease successfully. Some of these antifungals are copper-based, which presents a major threat as it can inhibit the development of fruit-forward flavours that are characteristic of Australian varieties. Copper is also one of the most widely reported heavy metal soil polutants
Hop Stunt Viroid	Early season growth is delayed causing the length of internodes to be reduced by as much as two-thirds. The cones on the sparse and shortened laterals are smaller and development is slower. Visible symptoms may take three to five growing seasons to appear after initial infection, which frequently leads to propagation and planting of infected material.	Caused severe mortality of hops in Japan, Europe and North America. Can reduce alpha acid yield by 60-80%.	Any infected bines should be removed promptly, including as much root tissue as possible. Because of the latent period, several adjacent plants should also be removed. Sites should be allowed to remain fallow for one season so that any remaining living roots produce shoots that can be treated with herbicide. Farm equipment should also be thoroughly sanitised to remove plant residue that may lead to further transmission.
Mosaic Viroid	Mosaic mottling between major leaf veins that can become necrotic. This is most severe when a period of cool weather is directly followed by a period of high temperatures. Plants can be infected for several seasons without visible symptoms until the appropriate environmental conditions occur.	Infected plants may establish poorly, exhibit weak bines, and often fail to attach to the string. Varieties with Golding ancestry are particularly susceptible, and yield can be reduced by up to 60%.	Use of herbicides rather than mechincal pruning to control basal growth. This may help to reduce transmission to adjacent plants. Application of insecticides to control aphid population may also help to reduce transmission to adjacent plants.
Powdery Mildew	Powdery white masses that develop on stems, leaves, buds and cones. During periods of rapid plant growth, raised blisters are often visible before sporulation can be observed. Infection of burrs can cause abortion or severe distortion as it develops.	Caused upheaval in the hop industry in the 1990s. Can result in severe crop damage, and in some cases complete crop failure due to lost production and unacceptable cone quality. Breeding programs would also experience significant set backs.	Integration of varietal resistance, crop sanitation, fertilization, irrigation and timely application of antifungals throughout the growing season. Some of these antifungals are copper-based, which presents a major threat as it can inhibit the development of fruit-forward flavours that are characteristic of Australian varieties. Copper is also one of the most widely reported heavy metal soil polutants in the world.
Verticillium Wilt	Range and severity vary depending on the aggressiveness of the pathogen. Yellowing of the lower leaves, death of tissue between major veins, and upward curling are common. Infected bines become noticeably swollen and tissue exhibits medium to dark brown discoloration when the plants near flowering.	Caused significant damage in Europe. Plants affected by non-lethal strains in one season may fully recover and appear healthy the following season. In contrast, plants affected by lethal strains will experience a sudden collapse of leaves and laterals that will rapidly kill susceptible varieties.	Can only be completely eradicated from the soil by long fallow periods prior to replanting, which would cause major problems since Australia has very limited land available for hop production.

Australian growers don’t need to look very far for examples of just how devastating the invasion of these key fungal, viral and viroid pathogens could be for the hop industry, particularly because their absence up until this point means that any varieties developed in Australia are possibly susceptible to an outbreak. For instance, it took 5 years and more than $26 million for the Australian banana industry to eradicate Banana Freckle in Cavendish Bananas. Similarly, it took 6 years and more than $1 billion for the New Zeland kiwi fruit industry to recover from Bacterial Canker infecting Golden Kiwi Fruit.

The primary means of importing the key fungal, viral and viroid pathogens is through infected hop plants, from which subsequent propagation can and does occur. If you’re seeking hop propagation material to grow on your farm, at your brewery, or in your backyard, be sure to use a reputable Australian supplier. In other countries, growers have developed programs like the National Clean Plant Network. There is currently no such program in Australia, so propagation should only be made from parent plants that are known to have good growth, yield and are free from pests and disease symptoms. Growers should discuss plant health status with their supplier, inspect parent plants in field, and access plant pathology services through their local Department of Primary Industries (DPI). If you can’t source the hop propagation material you need from an Australian supplier, it is essential that you import certified virus-free material while abiding by the strict import conditions.

Digital resources are also becoming increasingly important to plant biosecurity, providing fast access, download and analysis of information. See Table 2 for some of the online systems are used by stakeholders in the biosecurity system.

Table 2. Digital resources that aid plant biosecurity in Australia

RESOURCE	ORGANISATION	INFORMATION
Australian Biosecurity Import Conditions (BICON) for hop seed, hop tissue culture and hop nursery stock	Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment (DAWE)	• Import conditions • Fact sheets • Contingency plans • Diagnostic protocols
The Biosecurity Portal	Plant Health Australia (PHA)	• National plant surveillance reporting tool • Knowledge bases and data libraries • Shared spaces for committees and working groups • Awareness and information resources
The Australian Plant Pest Database (APPD)	Plant Health Australia (PHA)	• Key reference system for plant pests and diseases • Information on validated pests and diseases of plants with significance to agriculture, forestry, pasture or the environment • Draws information from 18 databases throughout Australia
AUSPestCheck	Plant Health Australia (PHA)	• Surveillance data on the presence or absence of exotic and established pests around Australia • Maps generated in real time provide digital representation of pest status around the country, including during invasions

While the Australian Government is responsible for the majority of pre and post-border biosecurity measures, state and territory governments are responsible for the delivery of plant biosecurity operations and supporting legislation within their borders. Each state and territory has a different approach to preventing the spread of existing and exotic pests and diseases, primarily due to the varied climatic conditions and legislative frameworks across the country. See Table 3 for details regarding the department that is responsible for plant biosecurity in your state or territory.

Table 3. State and territory government departments responsible for plant biosecurity

STATE OR TERRITORY	DEPARTMENT
ACT	Environment Planning and Sustainable Development (EPSD) Directorate
NSW	Department of Primary Industries (DPI)
NT	Department of Primary Industry and Resources (DPIR)
QLD	Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF)
SA	Department of Primary Industries and Regions (DPIR)
TAS	Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE)
VIC	Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions (DJPR)
WA	Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD)

It’s critically important that anyone who is not prepared to invest the time, money and effort required to abide by the import conditions simply make do with the hop propagation material available in Australia. It’s time to work together to ensure all growers abide by the import conditions, know the key threats, remain vigilant and report suspected incursions that could threaten hop production, the brewing industry, and a future full off delicious hop-forward beers.

How to secure your future hop supply

Pixel3 — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 12:17:17 +0000

The past five years represent an unprecedented time in the hop industry’s history with demand growing more quickly than growers can accommodate. But the fundamentals of the market have not changed just because everyone is drinking craft beer. Hop growers are still as sensitive to over supply as they ever were, particularly with the recent downturn in volume due to COVID-19.

The hop industry needs a foundation on which to plan for the future. This was once easy when there were fewer, larger breweries buying hops. Now, the craft beer movement has led to an increase in smaller, incremental buyers which magnifies the effect of an unpredictable harvest or the ever-changing tastes of consumers.

Hop contracts are a necessity if we ever hope to have hop supply meet hop demand. They provide growers with valuable insights into the direction of the market, enable them to invest in quality and capacity improvements, and adjust their acreage accordingly. By entering into a hop contract, breweries are supporting the industry by:

Providing growers with better insight into demand
Projecting the variety and expansion required for growers to successfully support brewers
Preventing shortages, overages and variety discontinuation
Creating more certainty and stability in the industry

A hop contract is a legal document where two promises are made. A brewery promises to take possession of, and pay for, specific varieties and volumes of hops. A supplier promises to deliver those hops. Generally, all hop contracts are forward contracts with best practice being to enter a minimum 12-month contract for the hops your brewery uses most often (although three to five years is now pretty standard) and reserve spot purchases for one-off batches, small canning runs and/or unexpected growth. We offer forward contracts starting from as little as 5kg cartons.

Accurate forecasting is important to prevent brewers taking more than needed, which eventually leads to the sub-selling of hops. Brewers can accurately forecast their hop needs using the following approach:

2020: Contract 90-100% of projected needs from 2021 crop
2021: Contract 75-80% of projected needs from 2022 crop
2022: Contract 50-75% of projected needs from 2023 crop
2023: Contract 25% of projected needs from 2024 crop

Each year, the brewery should move these contracts forward, writing additional contracts that fill out its needs.

Since overall production, brands and recipes are likely to change, contracts should be reviewed and adjusted regularly. As you build a relationship with your supplier this becomes more of an ongoing conversation about what your needs might be and how they can assist you in reaching your goals. Most breweries will have more than one supplier who will each offer slightly different terms and approaches to contracting.

We are thankful for the brewers who contract responsibly, understand the importance of the documents they sign, and fulfil their obligations. In return, we also strive to contract responsibly by maintaining a reserve that allows for some agricultural variance, and growing the most stable crop we possibly can so we fulfil all our obligations as well.

Now is the time to review your hop requirements

Pixel3 — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 12:32:21 +0000

It’s been a rough year for our industry, with many breweries impacted by the unique challenges surrounding COVID-19. As the hop growers in the northern hemisphere enter the throes of hop harvest, the hop growers in the southern hemisphere are seeing their plants emerge from winter dormancy and starting to organise their stringing and training teams. This is a critical time to take stock of your brewery’s situation, so we can adjust production to match likely demand for our crop.

Earlier this year, Brewers Association Supply Chain Specialist Chris Swersey wrote an article explaining why it is so critical to communicate your hop requirements accurately and often. This is a summary of his thoughts.

As we work our way through these uncertain times together, it is important to consider:

Necessary adjustments to your estimated hop demand for the rest of 2020 and 2021.
How much your estimated hop demand differs from the quantities in your contracts.
How many kilograms of each hop variety you will actually need.

Now is the time to share this information with us. The sooner you do, the sooner we can:

Limit the production of hops that brewers will never use, saving resources and reducing process costs.
Rework contracts to accurately reflect future needs that may have changed because of disruption to the brewing industry.
Account for the purchase of spot market hops. This is particularly important for smaller brewers who do not forward contract hops. In these uncertain times, buyers who are otherwise not visible in the form of contracts are assuming extremely high risk in terms of supply surety. While most hops are produced and purchased under contract, a significant quantity are still produced and purchased without contract.

Growers seek to avoid long positions on uncommitted hops since there is a risk they may never sell. Every extra hectare of uncommitted hops imposes an establishment cost on the system. Since brewers are the only buyer of hops, the industry as a whole will ultimately pay these costs, whether the hops are actually purchased or not.

You can help your brewery, your grower and your industry by communicating your hop requirements accurately and often. Your local sales rep is only a call or an email away, and committed to supporting your brewery so you can keep making great beer.

The BarthHaas Group Commits to Science Based Targets Initiative

jAmieaDMin27 — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 21:54:34 +0000

The BarthHaas Group joins global movement for climate action by committing to set a near-term emissions reduction target with the Science Based Targets initiative.

Thursday 12 February 2026. The BarthHaas Group has reaffirmed their commitment to a sustainable future of high-quality beer and beyond. The world’s leading supplier of hops, innovative hop products and hop-related services has joined a global community of more than 11,000 companies that are taking meaningful action on climate change. They have committed to set a near-term science-based targets aligned with the 1.5°C pathway, the most ambitious level defined by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to keep global warming below catastrophic levels.

“This reflects our long-standing commitment to sustainable innovation and our responsibility to reduce emissions in line with the latest climate science,” said Laxmi Pandit, Sustainability Manager at John I. Haas. As part of its commitment, BarthHaas will follow the SBTi rule that Scope 1 and 2 targets must cover at least 95% of corporate emissions under operational control. Also, since value-chain emissions often dominate agricultural and processing industries, BarthHaas will also establish a Scope 3 target in line with SBTi requirements.

BarthHaas’ Global Sustainability Group is creating greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories and calculating their minimum decarbonization requirements. “We see global group-wide collaboration as an opportunity to advance our sustainability efforts through shared knowledge and complementary resources” said Christian Kammerer, Global Sustainability Coordinator for the BarthHaas group. The next step will be preparing a draft emission reduction roadmap with a 5–10 year target timeframe from the base year that will be submitted to the SBTi for approval later this year.

Different measures will take precedence across the BarthHaas group’s different sites. Some sites are focused on using production waste as biological fuel for heat generation and on expanding photovoltaic systems to generate green electricity. Other sites are considering merging production facilities to leverage synergies and recover process gases. “Horticultural productivity both impacts and is impacted by the changing climate. This makes mitigation
and adaptation key to the continued supply of high-quality hops. Our SBTi commitment will enable us to define decarbonization strategies that are appropriate for our sector. We see great potential for emissions reduction, particularly in the use of renewable energy sources.” said George Webster, Sustainability Manager at Hop Products Australia. Intensified cooperation with suppliers is also on the agenda to align with SBTi targets. Customers and stakeholders will be able to track progress through annual climate reporting via CDP, meeting SBTi’s requirements for transparent annual disclosure.

The SBTi is a collaboration between the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the World Resources Institute (WRI), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) that enables companies worldwide to play their part in combating the climate crisis. They have developed standards, tools and guidance that allow companies to set emission reduction targets in line with climate science.

“By aligning with the SBTi, the BarthHaas group intends to set an ambitious emission reduction target, and we encourage others in our industry to make a similar commitment. Together, we can help reduce global emissions and build a better future for our planet, our communities, and our customers” said Tamanda Whittle, Quality and Sustainability Liaison Coordinator for BarthHaas UK.

BarthHaas Sustainability Report 2020/2021

Pixel3 — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 06:48:13 +0000

As the world’s largest hop supplier, BarthHaas strive to realise their economic goals through sustainable management. In 2020, they became a signatory to the UN Global Compact, committing to act responsibly in the fight against poverty, inequality and climate change. This led BarthHaas to set themselves the target of reducing their CO² emissions by at least 30% by 2030 in their latest sustainability report.

BarthHaas are committed to sustainable growth that will positively impact future generations, and consider it their responsibility to ensure this extends along the entire value supply chain. Continuous development of the hop and brewing industries through product and process improvements while reducing their environmental footprint is central to their sustainability strategy.

If you want to get straight to the details, you can…

Ultimately, BarthHaas want to offer added value to their stakeholders through a focus on quality, innovation and collaboration while maintaining the best price-performance ratio for customers and suppliers.

A bit about BarthHaas:

HPA are regional representatives of the global BarthHaas group, which is the world’s largest supplier of hop products and services.

BarthHaas operates across all continents, providing support to its members along the whole value supply chain: from breeding and growing through to processing and the marketing of hops and hop products.

Their innovation centres, Barth Innovations in the UK and Haas Innovations in the US, are dedicated to research and development. We have access to their results, which means our customers can take advantage of the full potential of hops. Because your beer is our passion.

Our new normal

Pixel3 — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 06:51:10 +0000

As the largest hop grower in Australia, the way we operate has direct consequences for people and the planet. We are proud to announce that HPA has become a signatory to the UN Global Compact, and we have published our inaugural sustainability report. From now on, everything we think, say and do will come under scrutiny to ensure it fits with the kinder, greener future we are working towards. This is our new normal.

While we are already integrating sustainability initiatives into our business, more is being planned to build greater energy efficiency into our farming operations. Social responsibility, environmental footprint, responsible sourcing, consumption and production now underpin our sustainability strategy which is guided by the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

If you want to get into the details…

This is just the beginning of a mission critical journey towards minimising our environmental footprint while simultaneously meeting the demands of our brewing customers. It is an enormous task, but we are confident HPA can make a meaningful change.