Carlsberg has revealed the winners of its ‘Cheers to Green Ideas’ crowdsourcing competition.
The winners of the two awards were chosen from six finalists, selected from 162 ideas through a rigorous judging process in which a Carlsberg panel discussed and evaluated the ideas extensively.
The three-week competition was launched in September in partnership with Copenhagen-based Think Tank, Sustania. Organisations, companies and members of the public around the world were invited to submit ideas that would make Carlsberg beer more sustainable.
Guillermo Luque Consuegra and Michael Malot won the main Cheers to Green Ideas award for their idea to use microalgae to produce biomass. The panel described their idea as “surprising and truly inspirational”, expanding the limits for what is possible within the brewing world. The pair receive £13,000 and a workshop with Carlsberg experts to further explore their idea.
Aimed primarily at consumers, the J.C. Jacobsen Special Award went to Søren Højland Boesen for his three green packaging ideas consisting of lightweight crates inspired by nature, magnetic and biodegradable bottle caps. He wins £6,500 and a chance to refine the ideas in collaboration with Carlsberg experts. The panel said Boesen was “an individual with exceptional passion and drive, exemplified by the fact that he submitted no less than five ideas to the competition”.
Charlotta Lyon, Vice President for Sustainability at Carlsberg Group, commented: “The winning ideas are very different and show that beer sustainability can be improved in very different ways.
“Interestingly, both winning ideas were inspired by nature through bone-inspired design and algae-based wastewater treatment. I look forward to exploring the winning ideas with our Carlsberg experts and the winners. We might, for example, be able to produce biofuel for our trucks from algae. It’s definitely an idea that warrants further investigation.”
