KESS 2 PhD Funded Scholarship: Benchmarking the sustainability of micro-brewed beer

Bangor University, School of Environment, Natural Resources & Geography

Applications are invited for a three-year PhD studentship benchmarking the sustainability of micro-brewed beer, funded by Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarships (KESS 2) in collaboration with the Food Division of the Welsh Government. Funding will cover tuition fees, an annual tax-free stipend of around £14,000 per year and a travel budget for workshop and conference attendance. The studentship is available from 1st May 2017.

Beer value chains contribute £22 billion per year to the UK economy. Seventy micro-breweries have sprung up across Wales over the past 15 years, led by demand for product flavour, “authentic” and “local” products. The successful PhD student will be based in the School of Environment, Natural Resources & Geography (SENRGy) at Bangor University, and will apply life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to address the following questions:

• How does the environmental footprint of Welsh micro-brewed beer compare with beer produced in larger breweries?
• What are the consequences of Welsh beer production for regional employment and gross value added?
• What actions can micro-brewers and the Welsh Government take to reduce the environmental footprint of beer?

Carbon footprint studies indicate that bottled beer has a footprint similar to that of milk. Raw ingredient sourcing, brewing operations, waste management, packaging and distribution choices are important determining factors. But there is a lack of rigorous evidence on the wider environmental and socio-economic performance of micro-brewed beer in comparison with beer produced in large breweries.
The PhD project will address that gap by calculating carbon, nutrient, water and land footprints, and socio-economic metrics (e.g. value added and employment) for beer value chains. Welsh craft ale will be benchmarked against beer brewed in large breweries. The PhD student will draw on LCA models and expertise in Bangor University, and will work with the Food Division of the Welsh Government and with industry partners to establish a micro-brewery sustainable innovation network, in order to:

1. Benchmark the resource/environmental efficiency of Welsh micro-breweries and promote effective measures to improve them
2. Provide validated sustainability metrics that may be used for marketing Welsh beer
3. Underpin and promote Welsh Government policy on sustainable development of Welsh food and drink sectors

SENRGy is internationally renowned for its cross-disciplinary research on sustainable land use and food production. The student will be supervised by Dr Eifiona Thomas Lane and Dr Dave Styles, and will benefit from a strong link to policy-makers and industry, and from being part of a wider team working on related projects.

Applicants should hold a first or upper second-class honours degree (or equivalent) in environmental science or management, engineering or a related degree, or hold a relevant postgraduate qualification, and have good communication skills. An ability to speak Welsh would be an advantage.

Please submit a CV (max 2 pages) together with a covering letter to Dr Penny Dowdney at [Email Address Removed] by midnight on 16th April, 2017.

If you have any queries regarding the PhD programme, please contact:
Dr Eifiona Thomas-Lane, [Email Address Removed], +44 (0)1248 38 3233
Dr Dave Styles, [Email Address Removed], +44 (0)1248 38 2502