2024.08

Sake and SDGs（Part1） - What are the Essential Initiatives that are not Greenwashing?

Saki Kimura | New Trends in the Sake Industry

A shift in consumer behavior is occurring among the Generation Z (*1), whereby these consumers seek out products and companies that value environmental products and have philosophies that minimize their impact on the environment. Sake is a traditional industry, and many traditional systems and approaches remain in place, but it is increasingly necessary to challenge tradition and support values held by the younger generations.

Despite implementing efforts to change corporate images, some of these strategies have been criticized as "greenwashing" (*2). In addition, stricter regulations and standards for ESG investment (*3), which calls for investment in companies that place importance on the environment and social contribution, are being considered in many countries.

In this special issue, Sake Street examines how sake brewing can be addressed within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set forth at the United Nations Summit. We’ll categorize the 17 SDGs into Nature/Environment, Health/Safety, Job Satisfaction/Equality, and Others, with examples of what the sake industry can do to help.

(*1) Generation Z: A term used to refer to the generation born after 1996.

(*2) Greenwash: To give the appearance of environmentally conscious efforts without any actual substance. The term is a combination of the words "whitewash" and "green".

(*3) ESG: Environment, Society, and Governance. ESG investment, based on corporate analysis that includes these perspectives in addition to financial information, has been the focus of much attention.

Index

Part.1 Nature/Environment
Part.2 Health/Safety
1. Sake and health
2. Sake and local community
Summary
References

Part.1 Nature/Environment

Sake and food loss

In "Zero Hunger”, the second of the 17 goals of the SDGs, the following target has been set:

By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.

As many as 11.9% of the world's population is food insecure to the extent that they do not have enough to eat that day. This food loss issue is also deeply related to sake, which is made from rice.

In the early 1990s, following the introduction of the Dassai brand by Asahi Shuzo in Yamaguchi Prefecture, sake breweries across the country began a fierce competition to reduce the rice polishing ratio after sake made from highly polished rice was highly acclaimed. However, the competition to reduce the rice polishing ratio to zero was a challenge, and the appearance of products with a polishing ratio of 0% put an end to this competition.

This competition over rice polishing has led to the question, "Isn't it a waste of resources to throw away most of the rice we have gone to the trouble of growing?" In recent years, combined with the development of technology that makes it possible to produce delicious sake even with low-polished rice, sake brewed with almost no rice polishing, such as 80% or 90%, has become increasingly popular.

When considering the issue of rice polishing ratio, it is important to note that the number does not always directly correlate to quality or taste. At one time, many sake breweries moved en masse toward lower milling ratios because it was easier to sell such sake at a higher price. Numbers are an easy indicator to understand, and there were and still are many people who took the consumer's view that the lower the milling ratio, the better the sake.

On the contrary, low rice polishing ratio does not necessarily mean that the rice is not eco-friendly. For example, Niizawa Sake Brewery in Miyagi Prefecture, which developed "Reikyo," a sake with a milling ratio in the 0% range, reuses the rice bran as cooking oil and produces almost no industrial waste.

The company either does not polish the rice, or it polishes the rice and then takes steps to reuse the rice bran, or neither. The way the rice is used reveals how the company deals with food loss.

Sake and water

Water is also an inseparable part of sake. Not only is it used as a raw material for brewing and watering, but it is also used in the rice washing process and for cleaning equipment, bottles, etc. The total amount of water required for a single brewing process is said to be about 50 times the total weight of rice. For example, a sake brewery that produces 1,000 koku (1 koku=180 litters) of sake each year uses approximately 3,850 tons of water per brewing season.

Despite this extravagant use of water in sake production, according to UNICEF, one in four people in the world do not have access to clean drinking water. The sixth SDG, “Clear Water and Sanitation," points out the problem of water shortage and aims to make safe water affordable and accessible to all.

Taking the lead in addressing the issue of water conservation is Kobe Shushinkan of Hyogo Prefecture, known for its Fukuju brand. The company has installed rice washing equipment that uses jet bubble technology and a system that recirculates the water used in the bottle washing process; in the seven years since 2010, production has tripled, yet water consumption has increased only 35%.

Water conservation is not the only way to conserve water; protecting terrestrial ecosystems is also a way to conserve water sources, as the 15th goal, Life on Land, calls for the protection of forests and mountain rivers.

Paddy fields, where the rice used to make sake is grown, are recognized as dams because of their ability to retain water and prevent water damage such as landslides and floods. Sekiya Brewery in Aichi Prefecture, which brews Houraisen, has paid attention to this and is working to preserve the local rice paddies by taking over the cultivated land of retired farmers in the neighboring area.

Okazaki Brewery in Nagano Prefecture, which brews Shinshu Kirei, signed the nation's first Terraced Rice Paddy Partnership Agreement with the Terraced Rice Paddy Conservation Committee to protect the scenery of Inakura, Ueda City, and is actively using rice grown in these paddies in its sake brewing process.

Asahi Shuzo Sake Brewing in Niigata Prefecture, whose signature brand is Kubota, has been involved in environmental preservation in its neighborhoods since before the term SDGs was even commonly used. Since 1984, they have been involved in activities to protect firefly habitats, and in 2001, established the Koshiji Water and Greenery Association to provide funding for NPOs and other groups engaged in satoyama (woodlands) and waterside preservation activities.

Sake and energy

Sake used to be made mainly during the cold winter period. With the development of refrigeration facilities and sake brewing technology, however, it is now possible to brew sake year-round. Furthermore, the refrigerated distribution of namazake, which used to be available only at the production site or in the neighborhood, has made it available not only throughout Japan but also in many countries around the world.

While this technological development has helped preserve the quality of sake and allows brewers to produce sake throughout the year, it has also caused a significant increase in power and electricity use in the industry. According to the United Nations, 759 million people in the world lack access to electricity, or one-tenth of the total population. These kind of energy demands lead to greater climate change and carbon dioxide emissions, which harm the environment.

Renewable energy is attracting attention as a means to achieve the seventh "Affordable and Clean Energy" goal and the 13th "Climate Action" goal. An increasing number of sake breweries are switching to renewable energy sources, including the Yoshida Shuzoten in Ishikawa Prefecture, which produces Tedorigawa, which has shifted 100% of its electricity consumption to renewable energy sources starting in 2021.

Hakutsuru in Hyogo Prefecture has installed 381 solar panels on its rooftop, generating enough electricity to power about 30 average households. The brewery is also the first in the sake industry to use a "cold and hot simultaneous heat pump" that saves energy and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by replacing part of the boiler and chiller.

Sake and reuse

The 12th goal of the SDGs, "Responsible Consumption and Production," calls for the reduction of waste and the recycling and reuse of waste.

Formerly, sake bottles were collected by retailers when they made deliveries, creating a cycle. Today, however, with the diversification of purchase channels to mass retailers and online stores, reuse is no longer the norm. In response to this situation, Otokoyama in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, has launched a plan to exchange 18 empty bottles from sake breweries in Hokkaido for one of its sake bottles (4-go [720mL] bin) in 2021. In 2010, Nagoya University of Environmental Studies in Aichi Prefecture developed "Meguru," a locally brewed sake made from reused bottles, as part of its experiments in selling and collecting reused bottles. The sake is brewed with Aichi's pesticide-free rice grown with compost made from food scraps from local schools and supermarkets, with the cooperation of Mizutani Sake Brewery in the same prefecture, receiving recognition as a sake that achieves recycling in various aspects.

Gekkeikan, Kyoto Prefecture, also reduces the weight of paper cartons, shrink film, and plastic caps for cup sake in order to reduce the amount of non-bottle containers discarded. The company also uses recovered paper cartons and paper waste generated during the filling process for transport cases.

According to National Tax Agency statistics, the amount of sake lees (sake kasu) produced in the sake manufacturing process amounts to approximately 32,000 tons per year. The exact recycling rate has not been calculated, but as a reference, statistics for Akita Prefecture (*4) show a 75% recycling rate.

Although it is believed that the reuse rate is relatively high compared to other areas in Japan, there is a trend toward a decrease in the use of kasuzuke (pickles with sake lees) and other household uses, and the disposal rate may increase in the future. There are various ways to reuse sake lees, such as passing them on to sake lees wholesalers or food manufacturers to be processed into other foods or used as livestock feed; nevertheless, since disposal is also costly, many sake breweries, especially small and medium-sized ones, are troubled by the disposal of sake lees.

Ine to Agave Brewery, a Craft Sake (*5) brewery in Oga, Akita Prefecture, is currently engaged in a project to renovate an abandoned house in depopulated Oga and build a factory to process sake kasu. The first factory, SANABURI FACTORY, has produced vegan mayo made with sake lees. Eventually, the company plans to take in not only its own sake lees, but also that of other breweries.

(*4) Reference: 酒かす活用、秋田で広がる　県が7月に研究会 [Utilization of Sake Lees Spreading in Akita Prefecture, Study Group to Meet in July] (Nikkei Shimbun, 2021/06/13, WEB Edition)

(*5) Craft Sake: A new category based on the typical sake production method, but with the addition of secondary ingredients during the fermentation stage. With no new sake production licenses being issued in Japan, the number of young brewers is increasing.

Part.2 Health/Safety

Sake and health

In one of the targets for the third goal “Good Health and Well-being,” the following is set forth: Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol. For sake fans, alcohol enriches their lives, but at the same time, alcohol is harmful to the body. Personnel involved in the sake business must understand this and approach sales and promotion from an objective perspective.

In the case of Japan, the beer industry is a model in that the manufacturers of alcoholic beverages themselves have established guidelines against excessive drinking and addiction. Major manufacturers such as Kirin, Sapporo, and Orion all have pages on their official websites calling for proper alcohol consumption for health reasons. Moreover, the Brewers Association of Japan, to which these manufacturers belong, has established "Good Beer Drinking Day" (November 26) and is promoting industry-wide efforts to encourage proper drinking.

While there are not many businesses that call for the proper consumption of sake (*6), there is active communication about the health benefits of sake. Several studies have shown that the ingredients in sake have health benefits, but one must separate this from the problems of health hazards and addiction caused by alcohol.

In order for sake to continue to exist as a culture, it must be accepted by society, including those who do not drink alcohol. To this end, it is vital that those involved in the industry do not turn a blind eye to criticism of alcohol, but instead communicate in a balanced and calm manner.

Kobe Shushinkan in Hyogo Prefecture offers health checkups to local residents. This is a good example of a company that manufactures and sells alcoholic beverages being aware of its role as a provider of health-related products and conducting activities to promote people's health.

(*6) Examples of sake breweries that have a website calling for proper drinking:

Sake and local community

Since ancient times, many sake breweries in Japan have played an important role in local festivals and other events to produce sake, an offering in Shinto rituals. In recent years, an increasing number of regions have begun to engage in tourism based on sake breweries from the perspective of town revitalization. The contribution of sake breweries to the local community is not only a historical and cultural aspect, but also a survival strategy in the sense that they become a necessary presence for the local people.

Related to such regional development is the 11th goal, “Sustainable Cities and Communities." Here, the importance of developing a disaster-resistant environment is emphasized in response to the rapid increase in the number of natural disasters worldwide over the past 40 years.

There are many examples of sake breweries, which regularly store large amounts of water for sake production, supplying water to areas where the water supply has been cut off due to an earthquake or other disaster. A recent example was reported in the media when the Taiyo Sake Brewery in Murakami City provided brewing water to people in areas where water was cut off during the torrential rains that hit Niigata Prefecture in August 2021. The brewery routinely provides free bottling water to local residents.

Another way to support the affected areas is by donating a portion of sake sales: the Asahi Shuzo in Yamaguchi Prefecture, which suffered landslides and flooding as a result of the torrential rains that hit western Japan in 2018, was in danger of discarding the equivalent of 300 000 sake bottles due to a power outage. However, with the cooperation of manga artist Kenshi Hirokane, the damaged sake was released as "Dassai: Shima Kosaku." A portion of the proceeds was donated to the affected areas.

In addition to these disaster preparedness measures, the use of locally produced rice is also a part of community development. Rice is highly transportable and many breweries purchase rice from other regions for its quality. In this context, using local rice not only stimulates local industry, but also preserves farmland and protects the landscape.

Summary

In this article, we have organized the eight goals of the SDGs in terms of the nature and environment section and the health and safety section. The second part of this article looks at the remaining nine goals and what the sake industry can do about them.