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The home of Leicestershire’s biggest beer producer, Everards Meadows has been designed with sustainability in mind. The 90 acre site is home to their brand new state-of-the-art brewery, offices and Beer Hall food and drink venue.
Founded 175 years ago, the company is still owned by the Everards family. As with any successful ongoing business, they have definitely moved with the times and are dedicated to making the brewery and their pubs as sustainable as possible. This aims to reduce their environmental impact, supports local resources, and uplifts the community.
Inside the brewery hall it’s all about reducing energy. The roof is covered with solar panels generating enough energy for 2.2 weeks of power generation. That’s around 100,000 pints of beer a year from solar alone! The building uses natural light, automated and efficient heating, cooling and ventilation to keep it green and eco-friendly.
Extensive energy monitoring systems help to control their outputs and extra insulation on the brewing vessels conserve heat, making every stage of the brewing process as efficient as possible. Nitrogen is used instead of CO2 to flush oxygen from their pipes. When equipment isn’t in use it is simply shut down, and they have reduced evaporation from 6% to 5%. And at the end of the process, yeast waste is recycled at a local anaerobic digestion plant and turned into biogas, creating green energy from their leftovers!
This constant process is kept fresh with dedicated ‘sustainability champions’ and fortnightly process reviews to discuss energy consumption and future activities. This has resulted in fantastic cost-savings – which are hugely important with the challenging prices of energy – and a reduction in carbon footprint.
The sustainability doesn’t stop at their doors. More than 70 acres of the site is undeveloped meadowland which has been opened to the local community to enjoy for free. The company has invested in walking and cycling routes which connect to Route 6 of the National Cycle Network and the waterways.
There are many different species of wildlife and a bug hotel on the meadows, with the land carefully managed to optimise the flora and fauna. They also work with community groups including the South Leicestershire Litter Wombles to run litter walks in and around Everards Meadows. This commitment to looking after the planet was recognised with a British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) ‘Sustainability Champion’ award.
When they opened in 2019 the site was connected to communities across the river thanks to a new bridge they installed. This opened up new spaces for locals and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive from walkers, cyclists and, in particular, dog owners as the whole site is dog-friendly inside and out, even offering little barrels of ‘dog beer’ (water) for thirsty pups.
The investment in the wider site continues, planting trees and flowers and making it the best outside space it can be for the whole community. The Everards team also benefit, with walking meetings and lunchtime exercise in the space encouraged as much as possible to aid wellbeing – they proudly boast that their offices have one of the best views in Leicestershire!
“Our commitment to sustainability keeps growing as we find new ways to make a positive impact—one pint at a time! From using locally sourced ingredients to reducing waste in our brewing process, sustainability is at the heart of what we do. Whether it’s cutting our carbon footprint, supporting independent pubs, or repurposing brewing by-products, we’re always looking for ways to do better. For us, great beer isn’t just about taste—it’s about making a difference for our community and the planet.”
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