Gull Pumps Out a Win at Sustainable Business Network Awards

25 November 2015

Gull Pumps Out a Win at Sustainable Business Network Awards

New Zealand’s leading discount fuel retailer, Gull, and DB Breweries took out the Renewables Innovation Award at the NZI Sustainable Business Network Awards in Auckland last night.

They were recognised for ‘Brewtroleum’ a joint initiative with DB Breweries. DB Export Brewtroluem was borne from the idea to create a biofuel from beer waste, making it a world first commercial biofuel made from the by-product of the brewing process.

“We are delighted by this recognition, because we believe that everyone plays a part in acting ethically and sustainably. When it comes to sustainability in the fuel industry, we have always been ahead of our time; this is evidenced in our market first offering of sustainable products. In comparison to our competitors, this clearly differentiates Gull as a leading biofuels retailer,” says Karl Mischewski, Retail and Sustainability Manager of Gull New Zealand.

The NZI Sustainable Business Network (SBN) Awards recognise companies that are making a real difference by transforming New Zealand’s business landscape.

The judges concurred; “Brewtroleum is a great use of a waste produce that shows Gull’s innovation in the fuel industry along with an incredibly effective marketing campaign used to generate demand for the product. Their success raised the profiles of both DB Export and Gull and brought renewable energy closer to the mainstream. DB Breweries and Gull were innovative in their use of the circular economy, finding creative efficiencies that fire the imagination.”

DB Brewtroleum came about as DB stripped ethanol from the yeast slurry (beer brewing waste) and refined it to produce a high-grade E10 biofuel. With Gull, New Zealand’s leader in biofuel, DB developed a process of turning beer waste into fuel, creating clean-burning biofuel.

DB Brewtroleum consisted of 10% sustainable bio-ethanol, which emits up to 8% less carbon dioxide than other high performance fuels and was a renewable biofuel that’s more sustainable.

“We are committed to offering a more sustainable alternative in the fuel market and continue to focus on this through our working environment and the products that we provide to consumers. As a result of the campaign, Gull and DB Breweries received inquiries from around the world asking how to make ethanol out of beer waste. There is potential for a large scale brewery to continually produce enough yeast slurry to create a larger volume of ethanol for biofuel,” he adds.

The full results of winners for the 2015 Sustainable Business Network Awards can be found at: sustainable.org.nz/awards

ENDS

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