Case study

Sub-metering a brewery, and taking more than 100,000 m³ off its water use

WaterBreweries & BeverageFood & Beverage Processing

Between 2023 and 2024 water use at the Carlsberg Canada brewery fell by more than 100,000 m³, and the Region of Waterloo gave the site its 2024 Water Efficiency Excellence Award for it.

Carlsberg Canada

Named with the client’s agreement; every figure prints its source.

The Quantify truck parked outside the Carlsberg plant under a bright overcast sky

How it went.

Every study on this site runs the same four beats, in the same order.

  1. 01

    Alert

    One monthly water bill, one big number, and almost no visibility into where that water was going.

  2. 02

    Cost

    100,000 m³ 2023 to 2024. Measured across the incoming supply, the discharge and every internal process line.

  3. 03

    Fix

    Flow meters on the pasteurizer water circuit · Existing Neptune Mach 10 meters connected, not replaced · Existing Endress+Hauser and IFM meters connected · PLC data brought in via Scadametrics signalizers

  4. 04

    Restored

    Every major water user metered, and the pasteurizer on a schedule set by the data

In full.

The problem

“They came to us with a specific challenge: one monthly water bill, one big number, almost no visibility into where that water was going.”

A brewery’s water is not one thing. It is process water, pasteurizer water, CIP, washdown and packaging, and until it is metered separately the monthly invoice cannot tell anyone which of the five moved. The quote above is the whole problem in one sentence, and the first week of meter data is what answered it.

What we installed

Flow meters on the pasteurizer water circuit, plus connection of the meters Carlsberg already owned (Neptune Mach 10, Endress+Hauser, IFM) and PLC data via Scadametrics signalizers. Nothing was ripped out.

What the data showed

“Within the first few weeks: the pasteurizer was consuming water outside of production hours. When the line was idle — between runs, overnight — water was still flowing.”

The fix

“The fix was a scheduling adjustment. No new equipment. No capital expenditure. Just a change informed entirely by data.”

The number

More than 100,000 m³ of water, between 2023 and 2024. That is the reduction the Region of Waterloo recognized with its 2024 Water Efficiency Excellence Award, and the one CTV News Kitchener reported on 13 November 2025. It is measured on the meters we installed, on the incoming supply, the wastewater discharge and every internal process line, against the pre-installation baseline held in the same system.

Also true

Carlsberg’s work received recognition in the AIM2Flourish global sustainability programme, and Carlsberg Group’s European ESG team cited the site as a model for potential global replication.

Closing

“You can’t fix what you can’t see.”

What the data looked like.

Hover or arrow-key across the trace to read any interval. The flagged point is the one that started the conversation.

Sub-metering a brewery, and taking more than 100,000 m³ off its water use
IDLE FLOOR · BEFOREWater flowing, line idle15 L/min with nothing on the packerCan line 2 runningAfter: idle floor closed
PASTEURIZER WATER · ONE DAY · 30-MIN BUCKETS · SOLID = BEFORE, SECOND SERIES = AFTER
Carlsberg Canada · the second view
municipal to brewhouse, 41 L/minmunicipal to cip, 28 L/minmunicipal to pasteurizer, 19 L/minmunicipal to packaging, 17 L/minmunicipal to utilities, 12 L/minrecovered to cip, 9 L/minrecovered to packaging, 6 L/minMunicipal supply117 L/minRecovered loop15 L/minBrewhouse41 L/minCIP37 L/minPackaging washdown23 L/minPasteurizer19 L/minBoiler and tower12 L/minMunicipal supply to Brewhouse: 41 L/min, 31% of total flowMunicipal supply to CIP: 28 L/min, 21% of total flowMunicipal supply to Pasteurizer: 19 L/min, 14% of total flowMunicipal supply to Packaging washdown: 17 L/min, 13% of total flowMunicipal supply to Boiler and tower: 12 L/min, 9% of total flowRecovered loop to CIP: 9 L/min, 7% of total flowRecovered loop to Packaging washdown: 6 L/min, 5% of total flowMunicipalsupply117 L/min89% of totalRecoveredloop15 L/min11% of totalBrewhouse41 L/min31% of totalCIP37 L/min28% of totalPackagingwashdown23 L/min17% of totalPasteurizer19 L/min14% of totalBoiler andtower12 L/min9% of total
BREWERY WATER BALANCE · 24-H AVERAGE · BEFORE THE FIX

The published totals are the figures in the proof register, with their sources. The interval shape is a representative reconstruction and is flagged as such in the dataset.

What changed.

Before

One invoice a month, with water running between production runs and overnight

After

Every major water user metered, and the pasteurizer on a schedule set by the data

100,000 m³

2023 to 2024

Measured across the incoming supply, the discharge and every internal process line.

Source: Region of Waterloo Water Efficiency Excellence Award 2024; CTV News Kitchener, 13 Nov 2025

In their words.

This technology offers unprecedented visibility into our operations, making immediate water and steam conservation possible for the first time!

Derek Cairney, Utilities Specialist, Carlsberg Canada Inc.

Quoted verbatim from the archive. Where only a fragment is on file it renders as a fragment with its attribution; the middle is never invented.

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