- The companies have signed a PPA that guarantees stable fulfilment of the brewing company's long-term energy needs.
- The commitment to green energy will stop the release of 30,000 tons of CO2 per year into the atmosphere.
Endesa and Mahou San Miguel have signed a ten-year renewable energy supply agreement that will cover 100% of the annual electricity consumption of all the brewing company's facilities, including its beer production centres in Alovera (Guadalajara), Burgos, Candelaria (Tenerife), Lleida, Malaga, Granada and Cordoba, as well as its natural mineral water packaging plants in Beteta (Cuenca) and Los Villares (Jaén), and its headquarters in Madrid. This will result in 30,000 tons of CO2 per year not being released into the atmosphere, the equivalent of the absorption offered by more than two million trees in one year.
The agreement, beginning on 1 January, is a long-term power purchase agreement covering 25% of Mahou's total energy consumption through a physical PPA (Power Purchase Agreement). This is associated with the production of the solar plant that Endesa's renewables subsidiary, Enel Green Power España, has just commissioned in Badajoz. The remaining 75% will be supplied with guarantees of renewable origin (GdO) and will include tailor-made advice from Endesa to achieve competitive costs, in keeping with Mahou San Miguel's long-standing commitment to 100% renewable electricity.
"At Mahou San Miguel, we have made ambitious commitments to reducing our consumption of natural resources and increasing our energy efficiency, by promoting initiatives that allow us to source from renewable sources and reduce our CO2 emissions", says Patricia Leiva, Director of Corporate Communication, Institutional Relations and Sustainability of Mahou San Miguel, "The agreement with Endesa is key to keeping to this path and increasing our process effectiveness".
Arturo Sanz, Endesa's B2B Marketing Director, states that "PPAs have become an essential tool to mitigate risks linked to prices and provide long-term stability when meeting energy needs. Together with advice on energy markets, this instrument allows us to consolidate our over-a-decade-long relationship with Mahou San Miguel with a new contract that reaffirms the commitment of both companies to sustainability".
Protecting the natural habitat: priority axis of the brewing company's 10-year strategy
One of the key axes of Mahou San Miguel's strategic sustainability plan for the next decade, "Vamos 2030", is the protection of the natural habitat; and the company has defined challenging and measurable pledges therefor. To make this roadmap a reality, the company plans to invest more than 220 million euros.
Its pledges include the use of 100% green electricity in all its operations; the implementation of renewable energy projects; continued optimisation of natural resources; use of 100% recyclable and free-of-virgin-plastic packaging and materials; and carbon neutrality in its production centres by 2030, and throughout the value chain by 2040. In 2021, the company reaffirmed the latter by joining The Climate Pledge, an initiative by Amazon and Global Optimism to meet the Paris Agreement goal ten years ahead of schedule.
Likewise, thanks to this agreement with Endesa, Mahou San Miguel keeps its commitment to self-consumption projects: launched in 2021 with the installation of photovoltaic panels at the Alovera plant, almost two out of ten beers in the centre are manufactured using solar energy, thus avoiding the release of 2,658 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere per year.
Zero emissions by 2040: Endesa's target
Endesa is also firmly committed to energy transition and has reaffirmed this pledge in its new strategic plan 2022-2024. In addition to being the integrated electricity company with the lowest emissions in the Iberian Peninsula, the company brought its commitment to zero emissions forward by ten years, to 2040, one decade ahead of the limit set by the European Union to eliminate greenhouse gases.
As an example, 92% of Endesa's peninsular energy production will be free of CO2 emissions by 2024. In 2021, the company's renewable plants produced 12,798 gigawatt hours (GWh) of green energy in Spain, the equivalent of the energy use of about 4 million homes for a year.
Endesa's commitment to sustainability is reflected in the fact that 89% of the planned investment over the next three years is directly related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, in this way aligning its sustainability strategy with this universal framework.
About Endesa
Endesa is the largest electricity company in Spain and the second largest in Portugal. The company is also the second largest gas operator in the Spanish market. Endesa operates an end-to-end business from generation to marketing and through Endesa X also offers value-added services aimed at the decarbonisation of energy uses in homes, companies, industries and public administrations. Endesa is firmly committed to the United Nations SDGs and therefore strongly supports the development of renewable energies through Enel Green Power España, the electrification of the economy and Corporate Social Responsibility. The Endesa Foundation is also active in this field. Our workforce numbers around 10,000 employees. Endesa is a division of Enel, Europe’s largest electricity group.
About Mahou San Miguel
100% Spanish family-owned company, the leader in the beer sector in Spain with a production share of more than 32%. It has 10 brewing centres (eight in Spain and two in the US), four water springs with their own packaging plants and a team of more than 4,000 professionals. Its history started over 130 years ago with the birth of Mahou in 1890. Since then, the company has not stopped growing. In 2000, Mahou acquired San Miguel. In 2004, it acquired the Canary Island brand, Reina, and in 2007 Cervezas Alhambra. In addition, it has diversified its business with the purchase in 2011 of Solán de Cabras.
It owns a wide portfolio of national beers including Mahou Cinco Estrellas, San Miguel Especial and Alhambra Reserva 1925; pioneering products in its category, such as San Miguel 0.0%, San Miguel ECO, Mahou Barrica and coeliac-friendly brands such as San Miguel Gluten Free and Mahou Cinco Estrellas Sin Gluten. It also owns a wide range of international beer and water brands such as Solán de Cabras. Internationalisation is one of the strategic axes for the development of its business. It produces more than 70% of the Spanish beer consumed in the world and has a presence in more than 70 countries.