Coors Honors Earth Day

GOLDEN, Colo. -- To celebrate Earth Day, Coors Brewing Co., is partnering with the Volunteer Outdoor Colorado Team to restore Parkfield Park in northeast Denver. As part of the restoration, Coors employees will help plant trees and build trails in the natural park area on April 21. Dubbed "Coors Day of Impact," the ongoing program provides company employees with opportunities to volunteer in their communities.

With Earth Day 2007, Coors launched a new employee resource group -- Coors Active Responsibility for the Environment (CARE) -- which was created and driven by employees dedicated to environmental education and volunteerism. The group's goal is to provide other employees with knowledge about their efforts to reduce adverse environmental impacts at work and at home. The group will also facilitate volunteer opportunities and host quarterly educational seminars on environmental topics for the company employees.

"This Coors Day of Impact is just one of many opportunities we have to fulfill our commitment to environmental stewardship," said Jere Zimmerman, director of environment, health and safety for Coors. "Coors has a long-standing commitment to conservation though recycling and reusing waste materials. Our motto was established by Bill Coors, who said: 'Waste is a resource out of place.'"

Recycling is not new for the company. In 1959, the company introduced the first commercially produced aluminum beverage can in America at its plant in Golden, Colo. Later, the company began recycling when it offered a penny for every can returned.

Currently, Coors recycles more than 95 percent of its solid waste. Last year, Coors recycled 4,357 ton of cardboard and paper; 3,310 tons of glass; 264 tons of plastics, and 1,107 tons of aluminum.

In addition, the company created a three-prong strategy to improve packaging by reducing weight, increasing recycled content and improving the ability to recycle the products. Today, Coors paper packaging is 90-percent recyclable.

Waste beer, a by-product of brewing process, is also refined to create 3 million gallons of ethanol per year. The refining is done through a partnership with Merrick and Co. The 200-proof ethanol is then blended with gasoline and sold in the Rocky Mountain region.
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