Craft Beer Tours NZ Amps Up Sustainability Initiatives

Mike Henderson from Craft Beer Tours NZ joined the WellingtonNZ Sustainable Tourism Capability Project in June of 2021. His business conducts brewery tours across the Wellington Region and now incorporates sustainability into all aspects of his business. His development in the programme spans all four pillars of the Tourism Sustainability Commitment and include short term achievements as well as long-term aspirations.

Craft Beer Tours NZ is now EKOS Accredited as a Carbon Friendly Business and is pursuing a Zero Carbon certification. Mike will continue to track, reduce, and offset the business’s emissions as he works toward the Zero Carbon certification.

As part of reducing the emissions created by waste, he has started collecting the food waste from his tours. All food waste goes to feed his family’s pigs – a creative way to divert food waste from the landfill and keep the pigs happy.

Craft Beer Tours NZ has also partnered with Look Good Feel Better. Two dollars from every tour booking is donated to the charity. This raised $420 alone in December 2021. Mike uses his storytelling skills to educate his guests about Look Good Feel Better as well as sustainability issues that he is passionate about.

Craft Beer Tours NZ has taken a holistic approach to sustainability and has several aspirational goals. Mike is looking to further incorporate Te Reo Māori into his tours, reduce printed materials by 90% and increase his volunteer hours in his community. He is also a champion of change at Brewtown in Upper Hutt. For example, he plans to organise a community garden within the Brewtown site.

The holistic and incremental approach taken by Mike has seen him achieve positive results throughout the business and his community.