As the Iowa Green Brewery Certification program nears the one year anniversary of its launch, we are proud to announce that it has received the Commitment to Iowa Award from the Iowa Recycling Association. The award was presented to the IWRC during a special luncheon at the 2017 Iowa Recycling & Solid Waste Management Conference on Tuesday, October 3.

Commitment to Iowa Award

The conference is hosted jointly by the Iowa Recycling Association and  Iowa Society of Solid Waste Operations who share a common goal of advancing environmentally and economically sound waste management solutions in Iowa. The conference brings together a diverse group of professionals throughout the solid waste, recycling and sustainability sectors and each year, both organization present awards to recognize efforts throughout the state. The Commitment to Iowa Award is given annually and looks to recognize a project that has demonstrated noteworthy advancements, innovation or commitment to recycling or waste reduction in Iowa.

Joe Bolick & Jenny Trent accepting Commitment to Iowa Award

"It is fantastic to see that the brewery certification is getting some great feedback from other members in the sustainability industry. We are very proud of what has been accomplished through the certification, and we are grateful for being honored with this award." says Joe Bolick, Communications and Public Relations Manager at the IWRC.

In the last five years, there has been an exponential growth in a number of craft breweries across the state; now home to almost 80. The certification program works with Iowa craft breweries providing free on-site technical assistance and hands-on guidance to benchmark sustainability and environmental efforts. Breweries must first meet compliance with air quality, stormwater, wastewater, and non-hazardous waste regulations to achieve any level of certification and once those are met, there are four levels based on the breweries sustainability commitments that determine if they are awarded bronze, silver, gold or platinum level certification. At this time, there are five breweries that have received certification and we are currently working with four more. Currently certified breweries include:

To learn more about the certification program, visit Iowa Green Brewery Certification.


Aaron JarnaginAbout the Author
Aaron Jarnagin
Marketing Intern
Iowa Waste Reduction Center

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