St. Vincent Brewery to fly in experts to address issue affecting residents

By Admin. Updated 6:00 a.m., Wednesday, December 7, 2022, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).

Click here to view more vehicle import options.

The St. Vincent Brewery Limited says it “has arranged to fly in expert technical and environmental teams to do an assessment” as residents near its manufacturing plant at Campden Park are complaining about an abnormal odor.

In a statement issued on Tuesday December 6, 2022, the brewery said the teams are being flown in to ensure that its “operations are conducted in a manner that takes into consideration the health and safety of our employees and the people in the community.”

“These teams are expected to arrive in St. Vincent this week,” the brewery said.

“In preparation for the team’s arrival, the company has been advised to initiate drainage of its wastewater treatment tank. Unfortunately, this means that an intermittent odor might be experienced as part of the process,” it added.

The company said it, “has also engaged a local environmental expert to independently review the plant operations and its impact on the surrounding community. The objective is to continually improve our performance in minimizing adverse impacts on the environment in our processes and facilities in the best interest of our staff and the community.”

Here is the full statement

The management of St. Vincent Brewery Limited (SVBL) is currently investigating complaints from residents regarding an abnormal odor within the vicinity of the plant.

We at the St. Vincent Brewery Ltd are proud of our unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship. Aligned with that commitment, in 2011 we invested and installed a wastewater treatment facility, the first of its kind for any manufacturing plant in the country, A a cost of EC$3.2 million. These systems are used in most beverage production facilities worldwide to remove contaminants from factory waste. A major overhaul of the plant was done in January 2022 and from then to now we have not had any complaints of this nature.

We believe that brewing great products depends on a resilient natural environment and thriving communities. We therefore recognize the importance and urgency of addressing the recent concerns. We want to uphold the best standards internally to reduce our environmental impact and are committed to continuously reviewing and improving our operations. To this end, the company has arranged to fly in expert technical and environmental teams to do an assessment to ensure that our operations are conducted in a manner that takes into consideration the health and safety of our employees and the people in the community. These teams are expected to arrive in St. Vincent this week. In preparation for the team’s arrival, the company has been advised to initiate drainage of its wastewater treatrnent tank. Unfortunately, this means that an intermittent odor might be experienced as part of the process.

The company has also engaged a local environmental expert to independently review the plant operations and its impact on the surrounding community. The objective is to continually improve our performance in minimizing adverse impacts on the environment in our processes and facilities in the best interest of our staff and the community.

We have made several visits in the area to assure residents that we are actively investigating the situation with the goal of solving the root cause.

The management of St. Vincent Brewery also intend on hosting a community meeting to address and respond directly to concerns and to provide updates on our investigations and resolutions.

We dream big to create a future with more cheers. Our ambition is to continue to provide the highest quality products that you know and love, reinforced by our shared belief and clear intention to enable a sustainable and inclusive future. It is about adopting a larger sense of leadership to cultivate shared prosperity and long-term value creation. A future with more cheers is shared prosperity, for our communities, for the local economy, for the planet and for our company.

We thank you for your continued support and assure of our commitment to conduct our business to adhere to the highest standards of business integrity, transparency and ethics.
ST. VINCENT BREWERY LTD