Even before Pure Project Brewing brewed a beer, it came across as an admirable operation thanks to its charitable aspirations. From Day One, it’s been a One Percent for the Planet business, contributing one percent of its top-line sales to environmental nonprofit organizations. Local recipients include San Diego Coastkeeper, Outdoor Outreach, and the local chapter of The Surfrider Foundation. Recently, Pure Project added to its list of beneficiaries, becoming a member of the Conservation Alliance, an organization devoted to preservation and conservation of wild environs across the globe.
Pure Project co-founder Mat Robar says he and his colleagues sought out a nonprofit championing sustainability, something that is very important to them. Steps the Miramar-based business have taken toward that end include brewing numerous beers using organic base malts, most of which are sourced from Alameda’s Admiral Maltings. Pure Project has also reused grain bags, and has eliminated plastic wrap as well as plastic snap-packs and cardboard packaging elements in association with its canned beers.
Dating back to its inception in 1989, the Conservation Alliance has contributed $19 million to support over 550 projects resulting in protection of 51 million acres of wildlands and 3,102 miles of river. The organization has also utilized funding from member companies to halt or remove 30 dams, acquire 13 climbing areas, and designate a quintet of marine reserves. Highlights of its more recent efforts include contributing more than $1.5 million to 38 organizations working to protect and restore North America’s wild places, donating funds to defend national monuments and core environmental laws, and establishing grants for the California Wilderness Coalition and Save the Redwoods League.
“We are excited to partner with Pure Project,” said John Sterling, executive director of the Conservation Alliance. “They have made sustainability and environmental awareness a staple of their business and this partnership to join like-minded companies will further strengthen their efforts through numbers.”