Waterloo Brewing Awarded SMART Green Grant
Waterloo Brewing Co has received nearly a half million dollars from the Government of Ontario, Canada. The brewery operates as Brick Brewing Co. and is the first – and so far the only – brewery to ever be awarded SMART Green Program funds.
By The Beer Community on May. 10, 2018
It’s a proud day for Ontario brewer Waterloo Brewing. They have just been awarded $477,561 by the CME (Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters) in partnership with the Ontario Government for their active commitment to the environment. They issued a press release to day announcing the award.
Waterloo Brewing
The Canadian-owned brewery opened in 1984. George Croft is the President and CEO of Waterloo Brewing and boasts about being craft before being craft was a thing! Rightly so. Much like Ed McNally opening Big Rock Brewery opening a craft brewery in the 1980s was no easy feat. Waterloo Brewing is credited with pioneering the craft brewing industry in Canada. (Big Rock was not far behind in 1985.) It’s an award-winning brewery with a strong commitment to the environment with many initiatives to reduce their carbon footprint.
The SMART Green Grant
The grant was started in 2016 to assist Ontario businesses in reducing their Greenhouse Gas emissions and become more energy efficient. The incentive is based on the government’s goal to fulfil a targeted promise to reduce GHG emissions by 2020. Successful applicants receive 50% of the cost of a project up to a maximum of $500,000. The CME has granted nearly $80 million in funding to about 1400 manufacturing projects. The Ontario government has committed to $25 million.
Is your brewery eligible for the SMART grant?
Awarding this kind of grant to a brewery has opened the door for other small brewing companies to be considered for funding. To be eligible for the grant, the business must
- be a small- or medium-sized business
- be based in Ontario, Canada
- have their GHG emissions must be under 25,000 tonnes/year
- be financially stable
- have been incorporated for at least 3 years
- prove financial need for a project to improve energy efficiency
- have manufacturing as the primary activity of the business
There are other requirements and hoops to jump through to be considered for SMART funding. You can see the complete list on the SMART Program website.