Interim Climate Action Plan 2026
Interim plan · July 2026 · Figures provisional · Baseline year and targets being finalised
We measured Counter Culture Drinks' carbon footprint for the first time this year, and this is our first plan to act on it. We know our emissions and we can see where they concentrate. What we don't yet have is a confirmed baseline year, finalised data, and the reduction targets that follow from both. So this is an interim plan, published while the work is still in progress rather than held back until it looks finished.
- What we have. Our first company-wide carbon footprint, measured with Zevero across Scopes 1, 2 and 3, and a clear view of where our emissions concentrate.
- What we're finalising. Our baseline year (2024 or 2025, whichever proves more representative) and our data quality, as we move from spend-based estimates to supplier-specific figures.
- What we're working towards. Science-based reduction targets aligned with the SBTi, and a full decarbonisation strategy built with Zevero, focused on our biggest sources.
1. Why this matters to us
We're a certified B Corp, a certified organic brewery and a member of 1% for the Planet. Our ownership is built around a mission: 5% of sales goes to three partner causes, and 51% of proceeds follows on exit. That's an unusual way to build a drinks company, and it only counts for something if we also take responsibility for the footprint of what we make.
We're a brewery, not only a brand. Everything we sell is made in-house in Bristol, which makes our impact physical, measurable and ours to reduce. This plan sets out what we now know about it, where it comes from, and what we're going to do.
2. How we measured
We worked with Zevero to calculate our organisational carbon footprint across Scopes 1, 2 and 3, following the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard. That covers our own operations, the energy we buy and, most important for a business like ours, our value chain: the goods and services we purchase, our equipment, transport, waste and the end-of-life of what we sell.
We've measured two full years, 2024 and 2025, and are confirming which is the more representative baseline (more on that below). Figures in this plan are location-based. On a market-based basis, reflecting our REGO-backed renewable electricity, our Scope 2 emissions are effectively zero.
3. Our footprint
The picture is consistent across both years: 93–95% of our footprint sits in our value chain (Scope 3), and within that one category dominates, the goods and services we buy.
Company carbon footprint · candidate baseline years
| 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total footprint | 158.1 tCO₂e | 196.2 tCO₂e |
| Carbon per can | 0.48 kgCO₂e | 0.32 kgCO₂e |
| In value chain (Scope 3) | 95% | 93% |
We're still confirming which year to adopt as our baseline. The 2024 figure carries one-off spend from fitting out our current site, and a broader product range we have since narrowed. 2025 reflects our settled core range at higher volume, and carries a third less carbon per can. We'll adopt whichever gives the more representative starting point for tracking progress, and we'd rather get that right than rush it.
Whichever year we adopt, the priority is the same. Purchased goods and services, meaning our ingredients and packaging, is by far our largest source at roughly four-fifths of the total.
Our value chain footprint by category · 2024 · tCO₂e
| Scope 3 category | tCO₂e |
|---|---|
| Purchased goods and services | 128.7 |
| Capital goods | 11.3 |
| Upstream transport and distribution | 2.9 |
| Fuel and energy-related activities | 2.5 |
| Upstream leased assets | 1.9 |
| End-of-life of sold products | 1.5 |
| Use of sold products | 0.99 |
| Business travel | 0.43 |
| Employee commuting | 0.14 |
| Waste in operations | 0.01 |
Scope 3 categories shown for 2024, totalling 150.4 tCO₂e; our Scopes 1 and 2 make up the small remainder of the 158.1 tCO₂e total. The same pattern holds in 2025. Purchased goods and services, our largest number, is currently estimated mostly from spend data and will shift as we move to supplier-specific figures. That's one of the main reasons this plan is an interim one.
4. What the numbers tell us
Two things are clear, and they set our priorities:
- Our footprint is our supply chain, not our brewery. Bought-in goods and services are around four-fifths of the total. That's where the plan has to focus.
- Our energy is already largely handled. Renewable electricity and almost no gas mean our direct operational emissions (Scopes 1 and 2) are a small share. Useful, but not where the leverage is.
So the real work is in what we buy, meaning cans, labels, packaging and ingredients, and in the suppliers who make them.
5. Our plan to reduce
Proportionate to a four-person company, and aimed where the emissions actually are:
Packaging — our biggest controllable lever
- Maximise recycled aluminium content in our cans, and push our can supplier on lower-carbon options.
- Right-size and cut secondary packaging; prioritise recyclability.
- Review labels and print for lower-impact alternatives.
Ingredients
- We already brew organic, which lowers agricultural impact. Next is engaging our key suppliers, across sugar, tea, concentrates and flavourings, on their own emissions.
- Favour lower-carbon and, where quality allows, more local sourcing.
Supplier engagement — the highest-value action
- Because so much of our footprint is bought-in goods, working with suppliers is the single most important thing we can do. We'll start requesting supplier-specific emissions data in place of estimates, which improves both our accuracy and our ability to choose better inputs.
Energy
- Keep our REGO-backed renewable electricity, and pursue practical on-site efficiencies as we grow.
Logistics
- Improve delivery efficiency, and review lower-carbon courier options for online orders.
Operations, waste and people
- Our brewery generated around 1.7 tonnes of operational waste in 2025. "That's small in carbon terms, but it's real and it grows as we grow. We don't yet have confirmed data from our waste contractor on how much is recycled versus disposed of, and getting it is part of measuring properly.
- Our waste figures are currently estimated from collection volumes rather than weighed, and cover the streams we record today. Measuring our waste properly, across every stream, is the first step. Reducing it is the next.
- Keep encouraging low-carbon commuting across our small team.
Getting better at measuring
- Complete the full footprint exercise, move purchased goods to activity-based data, and introduce a carbon figure per can, with the aim of putting it on-label so customers can see the impact of what they're buying.
6. Our targets
Our footprint gives us a clear starting point. We want the targets that follow to be grounded in science rather than picked from the air, so instead of publishing headline numbers before we can stand behind them, we're committing to:
- Setting science-based reduction targets, aligned with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
- Building a full decarbonisation strategy with Zevero, our carbon accounting partner, to underpin those targets with specific, practical actions focused on the hotspots we've already identified, above all our purchased goods, packaging and ingredients.
- Reducing first, not offsetting. We'll prioritise cutting real emissions. Where emissions are genuinely unavoidable, we may use high-quality carbon removal to bridge the residual, as a supplement to reduction, never a substitute, and always transparently.
7. Governance and accountability
The CEO has overall responsibility for delivering this Climate Action Plan, supported by our ESG function. We review progress at least annually, we'll report publicly on it, and we'll update the plan as better data arrives and our reduction targets are refined.
We'll continue working with Zevero, our external carbon accounting specialists, to measure our emissions, improve data quality and find opportunities to reduce our environmental impact. Climate considerations are factored into purchasing, product development and operational decisions, and we'll put more time, budget and specialist support behind that as the business grows.
8. Working with our stakeholders
We can't reduce our impact alone. Most of our biggest opportunities sit inside our supply chain, so we'll keep working with our suppliers to improve data, find solutions and reduce impact over time. We'll also keep our customers and our mission partners, Alcohol Change UK, the Soil Association and Billy Chip, informed as we go.
This is an interim plan, prepared July 2026. Figures are provisional, our baseline year and science-based reduction targets are being finalised with Zevero, and we will republish this plan as that work completes. Page last updated September 2026 (clarity and presentation only; no change to figures or commitments).