BOISE, Idaho — Beer lovers around the Treasure Valley celebrated Earth Day weekend at the first Shade City Brewfest.
Lost Grove Brewery, Idaho Botanical Garden and Treasure Valley put on the two-day event with a couple of goals in mind: drink delicious beer and create a space to share sustainable practices and ideas.
"As a small business, we want to be an integral and helpful part of the community," Lost Grove marketing director, Haley Robinson said. "I think that we all agree on a shared vision of all of us working together to continue to make Boise as increasingly sustainable, community-friendly and green as possible."
To help meet some of the green goals and reduce waste, organizers of the event provided food vendors with reusable plates, which Route Zero Waste Market helped clean with a dishwashing station they managed.
Attendees were also asked to bring their own reusable cups for the beer and other drinks. Robinson said they were able to supply those who forgot with second-hand cups they bought from Idaho Youth Ranch.
"We just thought, 'How can we throw an event and think about ways that we can reduce the waste of paper plates, plastic cups and other materials?'" Robinson said.
For Lost Grove Brewery Owner Jacob Black, the idea of giving back and being environmentally conscious has always been top of mind.
"It's part of our mission and our tagline of, 'Find your last grove and leave the right footprint," Black said.
Black said since opening the brewery more than four and a half years ago in October of 2017, he and the staff at Lost Grove have been able to accomplish just that.
Lost Grove has worked with the community and changed local environmental impacts in numerous ways, according to Black. They have worked with the City of Boise on its Water Renewal Utility Plan, previously part of a pilot program to reuse water to create beer, installed solar panels on their patio bar, bought carbon credits to offset their carbon emissions and the list goes on.
"For us, we know that there's when it comes to climate change, and we want to do our best," Black said. "We know that our product is a tough one and we just need to try hard to make sure we're doing the best we can."
Keeping those ideas at the forefront is what Black said helped them become Idaho's first brewery to become a Certified B Corporation. They are the 19th brewery in the nation to be given the B Corp distinction.
This is something Black said he's dreamed of since the brewery first opened.
According to the for-profits website, B Corps are "leaders in the global movement for an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy."
To qualify, a business has to meet three criteria. The first is to demonstrate "high social and environmental performance" by getting a score of 80 or above on the B Impact Assessment.
They must also make a legal commitment to all stakeholders and shareholders accountable. Lastly, they must be transparent in their information with the B Impact Assessment and Standards.
"We have an amazing team and I think that's what's gotten us to where we're at," Black said.
He said the accomplishment continues to push his team to think of new ways to impact the community and put on events, like Shade City Brewfest.
"We're just continuing to strive to be better."
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