Consumers, brands and retailers across the globe are becoming increasingly conscious of what they purchase, source and procure as it pertains to the total impact their footprint has. This results in pivotal changes in production and marketing efforts to embrace sustainable practices and reduce carbon emissions throughout a company’s ecosystem of partners in each product’s lifespan. 

 

“We can help companies reduce their carbon footprint and total enterprise emissions in specific areas of the total equation. Particularly in the beverage production, maturation and warehouse stages of a product’s lifespan.”- Chad Slagle, CEO 

 

Wine, beer and spirits companies that use traditional barrel-aging techniques can significantly reduce their CO2 emissions through Two Trees’ proprietary, sustainable maturation processes. 

 

Two Trees’ “Sustainably Matured™” initiative reduces the industry’s dependency on wood and other factors that add up in calculating total GHG emissions from a product's life cycle. 

 

Currently the supply for oak barrels used for traditional aging of alcohol products cannot sustainably meet the demand. In fact, only one to three barrels are produced from a single tree. Generally speaking, this means for every 200 barrels the cost is 100 trees that have aged and contributed to CO2 reduction for over 70 years. This puts a strain on our forests which absorb CO2 and help combat global warming. Two Trees can decrease the spirits industry’s wood dependency by 90% through its sustainable maturation process that utilizes less than 10% of the wood that is required in traditional barrel-aging. Our process for sustainably maturing beer and wine goes even further by utilizing less than 2% of the wood that is used in traditional barrel-aging.

 

In fact, Two Trees can produce the equivalent of 50 barrels or 2,650 gallons of matured spirits product with just two trees when traditional barrel-aging would require 25 trees to do the same. Additionally, these methods reduce carbon emissions by helping products reach peak maturation levels sooner, going from years to just a fraction of that with less risk, better control and no surprises. 

 

This means when calculating the GHG emissions, the years (N) of each product stored in the warehouse is drastically reduced. In some cases, moving from a multiplier of 15 years to just a fraction of a year. Without the need for rickhouses and rackhouses, not only is the time reduced but also the percentage of space and energy in warehousing is also reduced through sustainable-maturation processes. 

 

Aging loss (AL) is also a factor in equating total GHG emissions. In the typical barrel-aging process, ethanol is lost to evaporation (commonly referred to as the “angel’s share”). The average annual loss to evaporation for each product is applied as a loss factor contributing to the total GHG emissions of the product for every year the product sits in a warehouse. This is not only a problem for GHG emissions, but it also reduces product yield by up to 20% when the ethanol vapor evaporates, impacting profitability for the enterprise. Furthermore, angel's share often leads to Baudoinia compniacensis, also known as whiskey fungus.  When the ethanol vapor combines with moisture in the air and falls back to earth it creates dirty, black, sticky spores that become a nuisance and eye sore. Two Trees eliminates aging loss (angel’s share) in production and storage, significantly reducing carbon footprints of the brands it serves through two sustainable maturation processes. 

 

When a Negative is a Positive. Our Negative Feedback loop:

In climate change, a feedback loop is something that speeds up or slows down a warming trend. A negative feedback loop reduces the effect of change and helps maintain balance. A positive feedback loop increases the effect of the change and produces instability.

 

Our sustainable maturation methods significantly minimize the usage of wood vs. traditional barrel-aging. This creates a negative feedback loop by using less trees, leads to less deforestation, which means more carbon dioxide (CO2) absorption to combat global warming.

 

• Trees Reduce Climate Change

  • As trees absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) and release oxygen back into the air, this removes excess CO2 which contributes to climate change. By removing and storing the carbon this helps reduce overall carbon footprint when we save trees.

 

• Trees Supply Oxygen and Clean Air

  • Trees have the power to make the air we breathe healthier. In a single year, an acre of mature trees can provide enough clean air and oxygen for 18 people. Trees are able to absorb odors and gases such as nitrogen oxides, ammonia, sulfur dioxide and ozone while filtering particles by trapping them on their leaves and bark.

 

• Trees Combat Global Warming by Keep Cities Cool

  • The decline of tree coverage and the rise in heat-absorbing roads and buildings has caused average temperatures in some cities to rise by 6°F in the last 50 years. Trees can cool a city by 10°F by providing shade to homes and streets and releasing water vapor into the air.

 

• Trees Conserve Energy

  • With as few as three trees placed strategically around a home, summer air conditioning needs can be lowered by up to 50 percent. Trees such as evergreens used in a planned pattern can be used as windbreaks saving between 10% and 50% of energy used for heating. With the reduced energy demand for heating and cooling a home, the carbon dioxide and other pollution emissions from power plants is reduced as well.

 

• Trees prevent water pollution and soil erosion while saving water

  • The shade provided by trees slows down water evaporation. Trees are also able to prevent soil erosion by allowing rainfall waters to flow down their trunks and into the ground below rather than forcefully hitting the ground, which decreases the amount of soil that is washed away. When mulched, trees are able to filter the rainwater absorbing and filtering contaminants naturally and use it to recharge groundwater supplies while preventing pollution.

Source: https://www.treepeople.org/22-benefits-of-trees/

 

 

Why Sustainability?

 

Sustainability for Life as we Know It

 

Sustainability is not just environmental sustainability; it is sustainability for life as we know it. Climate change leads to more extreme weather events, increasing in both intensity and frequency, across the globe including devastating wildfires, heatwaves, hurricanes, tornadoes and flooding. All of those events take a toll on human life and our economies impacting disaster relief and recovery as well as supply chain disruptions which are not limited to crops and food production. Agricultural impact from massive droughts and flooding is a major concern for food supply as well as exacerbated problems from water depletion that affect our lives and energy supply. 

 

Addressing the Major Culprit to Act Fast

 

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions contribute to global warming which causes shifts in our weather and thus environments. The carbon dioxide (CO2) that humans release is the leading cause of climate change. It is the most common GHG emission but not the only GHG contributing to global warming. This is problematic as it sets off a chain of events affecting climates which ultimately can lead to dire circumstances. The first is melting ice sheets which causes rising sea levels and weaker circulation. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is at its weakest point in 1,000 years. As a part of the Gulf Stream the AMOC helps maintain the energy balance in the Atlantic Ocean. This current moves warm surface water from the tropics and distributes it to the North Atlantic. The colder, saltier water sinks and then flows South.

As a result of melting ice sheets and heavy rain, the water in the North Atlantic Ocean is becoming less salty, which makes it lighter and less likely to sink. If the water in the North Atlantic becomes too light, the entire circulation could be disrupted. Global weather patterns are critically linked to the circulation and its transport of heat and nutrients around the world. A collapse of this system would result in abrupt and significant changes, including fast rising sea levels, more extreme winters in Western Europe and disruptions to monsoon systems in the tropics and permanent drought conditions in some areas. It could also have a cascading effect and destabilize other components of the Earth’s climate system, including the Antarctic ice sheet and the Amazon rainforest. It is reported that the AMOC has been destabilized and is moving toward its critical threshold, at which it could abruptly collapse. 

 

Additionally, as temperatures have risen nearly 11 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, permafrost beneath the Arctic Ocean has been slowly thawing releasing 140 million tons of carbon dioxide and 5.3 million tons of methane (another GHG) into the atmosphere each year —which is roughly equal to the yearly emissions of Spain.

 

We stand with over 400 companies, including Microsoft, Unilever, Facebook, Ford, Nestlé and Pepsi, in committing to reduce carbon emissions consistent with the United Nations’ 1.5C target, which scientists have determined is the threshold of dangerous climate change.

 

Companies and brands across the globe are looking for eco-friendly production initiatives in order to reduce each brand’s environmental impact, total enterprise emissions.

 

We aren’t Talking Goals, We’re Taking Action.

 

Two Trees applies best practices in sustainability and innovation across its entire operation and extends its positive impact across the beer, wine and spirits industries. As a supplier to major distillers, craft brewers and wineries, we can help each company and their brands achieve sustainability goals by integrating our proprietary maturation methods. Two Trees looks to encourage sustainable production and maturation of beer, wine and spirits as a responsible, partner within a full eco-system of suppliers and efforts.

​