Diageo has today (Friday, July 15) announced plans to invest €200 million in Ireland’s first purpose-built carbon neutral brewery on a greenfield site in Co. Kildare.
The proposed new facility at Littleconnell, Newbridge, will brew lagers and ales including Rockshore, Harp, Hop House 13, Smithwick’s, Kilkenny and Carlsberg.
Diageo outlined that it will submit a planning application for the brewery to Kildare County Council this September.
If the development is granted permission, the company plans to begin brewing in 2024, following a construction period of around two years.
Up to 1,000 jobs will be created during the construction of the site, and the facility will employ 50 people when operational.
The proposed brewery would be the second largest operation in the country after St James’s Gate in Dublin and would have a capacity of two million hectolitres.
The state-of-the-art facility would be powered with 100% renewable energy and will harness the latest process technology to minimise overall energy and water consumption.
Diageo explained that this will enable the brewery to avoid up to 15,000 metric tons of carbon emissions annually.
The company said the transfer of production of lagers and ales to the new facility will enable St James’s Gate to increase the production of Guinness to meet export demand.
It will also help Diageo to meet its 2030 environmental commitments.
Commenting on the announcement, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar TD, said:
“This €200 million investment by Diageo is really great news for the future development of Ireland’s thriving food and drink industry, and also for the wider national economy.
“We must leave the planet in a better way than we found it. Industry has a role to play and I’m really pleased to see Diageo taking the lead and investing in this carbon neutral brewery, which I’m sure will be a leading example for others,” Varadkar said.
Colin O’Brien, category head – global beer supply, Diageo noted that today is a “landmark day” for the company in Ireland.
“We are fully committed to embedding sustainability across our business from grain to glass and this announcement represents the next step in our integrated approach towards achieving one of Diageo’s Society 2030: Spirit of Progress commitments by becoming carbon neutral in our direct operations,” he said.
Both IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland have welcomed the proposed development.