Today, Mother Earth Brewing of Kinston, N.C. announced that
they have become the first brewery in the United States to be awarded LEED®
Gold certification status from the United States Green Building Council. The award comes after over three years
of renovations and carbon footprint reduction work by the brewery.
LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a
voluntary, consensus-based, market¬-driven program sponsored by the US Green
Building Council (USGBC) that provides third-party verification of green
buildings. The program provides
three different certification levels (Platinum, Gold and Silver) which are
attained by earning a certain number of “points” by completing eco-friendly
projects designed to:
- Lower operating costs and increase asset value
- Reduce waste sent to landfills
- Conserve energy and water
- Be healthier and safer for occupant
- Reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions
The program is voluntary, allowing those who wish to take a
leadership role in the green building initiative to gain third party recognition. Though the USGBC does not formally
track certified projects by categories such as “breweries,” they informed
Mother Earth that it was the first brewery to achieve certification higher than
Silver based on their research.
Mother Earth Brewing founders Stephen Hill and Trent Mooring
were committed to environmental sustainability from the very inception of the
brewery in 2008. Throughout the
development and construction process, they both continued to spend time finding
ways to make Mother Earth a green facility. That focus led to the installation of solar panels,
recyclable carpet, eco-friendly tile, and insulation made of blue jeans. Eco-flush toilets save hundreds of
gallons of water each year, and run on rain water collected in a cistern. The brewery also recycles everything
from spent grain (feed for cattle) and the bags the grain comes in (converted
to stylish shopping bags by local artisans) to the old wooden bourbon barrels
the brewery uses for aging (converted to building materials and art pieces
displayed throughout the facility).
“It was critical to educate myself on a multitude of
eco-friendly products, and select those that best met our objectives, limiting
our environmental impact, and demanding efficiency,” Mooring said.
The renovation of the brewery building has also spurred more
downtown development in Kinston, which has since seen more renovations on
downtown buildings that have brought along a new live music venue and two new
restaurants slated to open this year.
“Revitalizing a downtown building and neighborhood isn’t
just a great act of sustainability, it’s also a great way to foster economic
growth in a local economy. We hope that we can continue to be an anchor for the
downtown renaissance happening in our town,” added co-founder Stephen Hill.
Mother Earth Brewing was founded by Stephen Hill and Trent
Mooring four years ago. Soon after, they added Brewmaster, Josh D. Brewer to
the team and within months, an old downtown building was repurposed into a
brewery. Mother Earth Brewing
began to bottle and keg their beer in October of 2009. Today, just over three
years after production of their first batch of beer, Mother Earth Brewing
counts on a team of fourteen people to keep up with production. Mother Earth
Brewing enjoys over 2,500 accounts, and can be found in bars, restaurants,
supermarkets and specialty stores across North Carolina, Georgia, and
Washington, DC.
Mother Earth Brewery is a 40 barrel craft brewery that
bottles and kegs beer for sale in its Kinston, NC Tap Room, and for
distribution in bars, restaurants and retail locations throughout North
Carolina, Georgia, and Washington, DC. The brewery and Taproom are located at
311 North Herritage Street Kinston, NC 28501. More information can be found at
www.motherearthbrewing.com. For
more information about USGBC and LEED®, please visit www.usgbc.org/leed.
Contact Info
Company: Mother Earth Brewing
Contact: Trent Mooring
E-mail: trent@motherearthbrewing.com
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