Alkatera simplifies sustainability for drinks sector
Avallen co-founder Tim Etherington-Judge has created a digital sustainability platform that aims to reduce the risk of greenwashing and streamline data.
Etherington-Judge, who is also the founder of non-profit Healthy Hospo, has launched the platform to provide brands with a “clear, practical and credible way” to manage and report their environment and social impact.
Alkatera delivers analytics in four areas, including brewing, distilling and fermentation operations, providing exact water, waste, land, biodiversity and carbon impact data.
The data also covers Life Cycle Assessments, gender pay gaps, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics. It also helps to streamline the certification process for B Corp through data collection.
The tool aims to avoid the scattering of data across multiple spreadsheets and emails, helping to reduce the time and resource burden associated with sustainability management.
Eventually, the platform will also incorporate a high-risk ‘what if’ scenario function that can simulate changes to recipes, sourcing or packaging to enable producers to see the potential environmental impact before committing to updates.
“I created Alkatera to make sustainability easier for all drinks brands,” said Etherington-Judge. “Reducing the time burden, providing the expertise and experience I gained in launching Avallen, and turning what is often complex and inaccessible into something intuitive and cost-effective.
“Everything environmental, social and governance reporting lives in one place.”
Alkatera also seeks to address the risk of greenwashing by providing a ‘claim check’ tool, which verifies marketing statements against live, traceable data to ensure regulatory compliance.
In April last year, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) gained enhanced enforcement powers to fine companies up to 10% of global revenue for misleading sustainability claims.
“Sustainability in the drinks world often feels like a box-ticking exercise, but when Tim showed me the backend of Alkatera, I realised this was something entirely different,” added Ara Cavallo, co-founder of Barra México.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen the messy, complex science of our industry handled with such clarity and honesty. You can tell immediately it was built by people who understand the reality of running a brand.”
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