Washington College Magazine
Really Green Beer
By Michael McGrath '07
Jennifer Orgolini '90
The New Belgium Brewing Company, based in Fort Collins, CO, has found a way to be both profitable and socially and environmentally conscious. In the thick of this remarkable achievement is Jennifer Orgolini '90. While pursuing a master's in environmental ethics at Colorado State, Orgolini took a part-time job bottling beer at New Belgium. She used the office skills she learned at Starkey Farms in Galena, MD, to land a job within the brewery's office and became New Belgium's office manager in 1993. By the year 2000, Orgolini had risen through the ranks to become chief financial officer, and by 2004 she was chief operating officer.
Jennifer credits her liberal arts background for preparing her for success and believes that her humanities degree is especially useful at a values-driven company such as New Belgium. Other Washington alums have gotten into the spirit as well, with Melisse Merrell '94 and Peter Goode '88 joining the New Belgium family.
New Belgium has an impressive tradition of philanthropy. For each barrel of beer sold, the company donates a dollar to charity. In 2006, this amounted to approximately $475,000. In addition, New Belgium supports non-profit organization fundraisers, which brings its annual charitable contributions closer to $750,000. In addition, New Belgium has a progressive employee ownership program, with ownership granted after one year's employment. This program "encourages a community of trust and mutual responsibility," as well as a sense of "fiscal transparency," according to the company's website, www.newbelgium.com.
New Belgium also takes advantage of alternative energy sources. In 1998, employees voted to have New Belgium become the nation's first brewery entirely powered by wind. Other environmentally-conscious ideas from New Belgium include a water conservation program that allows the company to produce beer using half the water used by the average brewer. And by utilizing everything from reusable heat to sun tubes, New Belgium ensures that a "green" beer is available anytime, not just in late March.
Jennifer lists the three pillars of New Belgium as "energy efficiency, fun and excellent beer." To this end, the bicycle has become something of a symbol for the company. It figures heavily in the story of the brewery's founding by Jeff Jordan, who was bicycling through Europe and was impressed by the taste of Belgian beer, and it can be seen in one of the company's first creations, Fat Tire, as well as an annual bike-a-thon, the Tour de Fat. For those of us on the East Coast looking to whet our whistles and support a responsible and forward-thinking company (as well as a fellow alumna), Orgolini reports that New Belgium hopes to have their product hit the shelves near Chestertown in as little as two years.
300 Washington Avenue, Chestertown, Maryland 21620 | 410-778-2800 | 800-422-1782