Meet the Sponsors: NIRAS
As the CIBD x BFBi Sustainability in Brewing Conference approaches, BFBi is shining a spotlight on the companies making it all possible, starting with our BBQ sponsor, NIRAS.
Expert Support
NIRAS is a trusted partner for brewers and beverage producers in the UK and beyond. With deep sector knowledge, they support every stage of the journey, from brewhouse to bottling.
Known for their engineering-led approach, NIRAS helps clients tackle the complexities of producing consistent, high-quality products. Importantly, they keep sustainability front and centre.
Whether it’s expanding capacity, upgrading facilities, or adopting new technologies, NIRAS focuses on efficiency, environmental performance, and long-term growth. Furthermore, this experience informs their work across the wider food and beverage industry, where they support everything from independent start-ups to global manufacturers.
NIRAS is an international company with a team based in the UK, enabling them to offer local expertise with global insight to deliver solutions to the food & beverage sector that are never off-the-shelf. Instead, they collaborate closely to understand goals, identify opportunities, and deliver real, measurable value.
Sustainability
Sustainability is not an afterthought for NIRAS — it’s embedded in everything they do. Their engineers integrate practical solutions with cutting-edge tools like BIM and digital modelling to design energy-efficient, low-emission, and resource-conscious facilities.
In addition, they go further. NIRAS helps businesses align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals by offering carbon and energy audits, life cycle assessments, and bespoke net-zero strategies. As a result, sustainability becomes a core part of operational planning, not just a compliance checkbox.
Beer and Beverage
With decades of hands-on experience in the brewing and beverage sector, NIRAS supports clients of all sizes, from craft brewers to multinational brands. Their services span the full production process, with a strong focus on efficiency, sustainability, and consistency.
For example, they help optimise energy and water use, reduce waste, and integrate smart automation and control systems. Whether improving CIP performance, enhancing packaging lines, or delivering full facility upgrades, NIRAS brings engineering excellence and a passion for the industry to every project.
Discover how NIRAS is supporting sustainable progress in the UK food and beverage sector:
🔗 niras.com – Food & Beverage UK
🔗 Case Study 1: NIRAS partners with HEINEKEN to support carbon reduction efforts at breweries
🔗 Case study 2: Carlsberg halves its water usage at brewery
🔗 Case study 3: Crafting a sustainable future: Strategic expansion of an Irish brewery
🔗 Case study 4: Building a future-ready brewery for Grans
🔗 Case study 5: CO-RO’s ambitious Project One Plant: Building a factory for the future
🔗 Sector Report: Industrial resilience depends on water stewardship – new report from NIRAS
Join Us at the CIBD x BFBi Sustainability in Brewing Conference
There’s still time to register!
This 2-day conference is a must-attend event for brewers of all sizes looking to future-proof their operations. Throughout the programme, you’ll learn best practices, explore new technologies, and connect with peers who are passionate about building a more sustainable industry.
📄 View the full programme
🎟️ Get your tickets today
Meet the NIRAS Speakers
Sustainability: An engineering mindset
Sustainability reaches every part of a brewery – from operations and maintenance to materials and supply chains. This session will explore how energy and carbon improvements can be found across the plant, not just in projects labelled as decarbonisation. It’s a call for engineers of all disciplines to see sustainability as a mindset that informs everyday decisions and long-term planning.
Adrian Nicholls is Head of Sustainability & Utilities at NIRAS Food & Beverage (UK). With over 25 years’ experience spanning engineering, project delivery, marketing, digital transformation, and sustainability advisory, he helps manufacturers develop and deliver practical ESG strategies, GHG accounting, resource efficiency programmes, and reusable packaging systems.
An experienced engineer and project leader, Adrian has worked across the process industries, managing the design, implementation, and optimisation of utilities and renewable energy systems—from feasibility studies to full-scale installations. His expertise covers mass and energy balances, detailed utilities design, and plant commissioning, with a portfolio that includes CHP plants, incineration upgrades, and infrastructure improvements in the food and beverage sector.
Water efficiency in brewing: Lessons from over 100 breweries
Drawing on experience from some of the brewing industry’s most ambitious water projects – including Carlsberg’s Fredericia recycling plant– this session looks at what practical water performance really means. We’ll share insights from assessing over 100 breweries worldwide and show how NIRAS brings this knowledge together in our Water Review approach.
Søren Nøhr Bak is Senior Expertise Director at NIRAS, with over 30 years of experience in industrial water efficiency and treatment, particularly in the Food & Beverage sector. His career spans roles in consultancy, technical leadership, and innovation across water reuse, sustainability, and process optimisation.
He holds MSc degrees in Environmental and Civil Engineering, along with commercial qualifications from IMD (Switzerland) and KTH (Sweden). Søren has led major water reduction projects for global breweries, including Carlsberg and ABInBev, and brings deep expertise in water recycling, chemical risk assessment, and digital water management.
