{"id":35765,"date":"2025-06-09T13:25:36","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T12:25:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/2025\/06\/rozhovor-s-ivanem-tucnikem-vedoucim-udrzitelnosti-skupiny-asahi-europe-international\/"},"modified":"2025-06-09T19:47:45","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T18:47:45","slug":"interview-with-ivan-tucnik-head-of-group-sustainability-asahi-europe-international","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/en\/2025\/06\/interview-with-ivan-tucnik-head-of-group-sustainability-asahi-europe-international\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Ivan Tu\u010dn\u00edk, Head of Group Sustainability Asahi Europe &#038; International"},"content":{"rendered":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Rozhovor-obr-1.jpg\" rel=\"shadowbox[sbpost-35765];player=img;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-35569 size-full lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Rozhovor-obr-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"983\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Rozhovor-obr-1.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Rozhovor-obr-1-244x300.jpg 244w, https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Rozhovor-obr-1-768x944.jpg 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 800px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 800\/983;\" \/><\/a>\n<p>How does Radegast Brewery work with water when brewing beer, what are the\u00a0brewery\u2019s\u00a0aims regarding sustainability, to what extent does the\u00a0brewery use the\u00a0latest technological trends in\u00a0its production, and why do we like bitter beer in\u00a0the\u00a0Czech Republic? The\u00a0offer to be interviewed for our VTEI journal was accepted by Ing. Mgr. et Mgr. Ivan Tu\u010dn\u00edk from Asahi Europe &amp; International; in\u00a0the\u00a0Czech Republic, the\u00a0company owns Radegast, Plze\u0148sk\u00fd Prazdroj, Velkopopovick\u00fd Kozel, and many other breweries across Europe.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\"><strong>Mr. Tu\u010dn\u00edk, Radegast has long been one of\u00a0the\u00a0world leaders in\u00a0water conservation in\u00a0beer production. How far can you go in\u00a0water conservation?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>A\u00a0lot depends on how far you set your limits. There are breweries in\u00a0the\u00a0world that can go somewhere between 1.6 and 1.7\u00a0litres per litre of\u00a0beer produced. The\u00a0question then becomes how much each tenth of\u00a0a\u00a0litre saved is worth. You get to the\u00a0stage where, to save water even more, you need to use, for example, reverse osmosis technology, which is not only an energy-intensive process, but also generates hazardous waste. For us, we have set this limit at a\u00a0level that we have mapped out, but above all at a\u00a0level that we are able to apply in\u00a0production. In\u00a0addition, there is not a\u00a0single brewery in\u00a0the\u00a0Czech Republic that would be at risk of\u00a0water shortage, so there is no need to lower this limit even more. Nevertheless, we are trying to find ways of\u00a0maximising the\u00a0efficiency of\u00a0water use without having to treat it in\u00a0such a\u00a0complex way. In\u00a0fact, we have already reached our limits. This is evidenced by the\u00a0fact that we have made no progress in\u00a0reducing consumption in\u00a0the\u00a0last two years. Rather, our aim is to maintain\u00a0this threshold.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\"><strong>How are the\u00a0other breweries in\u00a0the\u00a0Asahi Group doing with water conservation? To what extent is Radegast a\u00a0model for other breweries?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>We are fortunate that there are people at Radegast who are interested in\u00a0water conservation during the\u00a0brewing process and who place great emphasis on this topic. What is important, however, and where Radegast has an undeniable advantage over, say, the\u00a0Pilsner brewery, is the\u00a0complexity of\u00a0the\u00a0operation and beer production itself. The\u00a0more types of\u00a0beer you brew within\u00a0one brewery, the\u00a0higher the\u00a0water consumption. Every time you start brewing a\u00a0different kind of\u00a0beer, it means a\u00a0complete sanitization of\u00a0the\u00a0entire system, which is reflected in\u00a0the\u00a0aforementioned water consumption. Radegast Brewery has the\u00a0advantage that there are not so many types of\u00a0beer brewed here compared to other breweries in\u00a0the\u00a0group. It is definitely an inspiration for others, but with the\u00a0small footnote that not everything that is possible at Radegast is possible elsewhere. Radegast Brewery is the\u00a0absolute leader in\u00a0terms of\u00a0water consumption, not only in\u00a0comparison to the\u00a0entire group of\u00a0breweries belonging to Asahi, but also globally.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\"><strong>To what extent can you use this know-how with other breweries?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>A\u00a0lot. We always try to share our experience with each other, and if something works, we try to apply it further. However, we have to take into account the\u00a0local context every time. The\u00a0extent to which solutions can be replicated is sometimes limited. We operate four breweries in\u00a0the\u00a0Czech Republic and Slovakia, with a\u00a0total average consumption of\u00a02.8\u00a0litres of\u00a0water per beer. Our ambition is to get to 2.75 without using energy-intensive technologies.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\"><strong>Surely, such low water consumption also works as a\u00a0good promotion point&#8230;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Of\u00a0course, this is perceived very positively by our consumers. This approach did not start as a\u00a0marketing concept coming from an idea of\u00a0a\u00a0marketing team or a\u00a0PR manager. The\u00a0whole current approach has its foundations from the\u00a0bottom, and other things have built on top of\u00a0that over time. There are other activities that we do at Radegast.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\"><strong>One of\u00a0the\u00a0proofs is not only water conservation in\u00a0operation, but also management of\u00a0rainwater. What is Radegast\u2019s\u00a0approach in\u00a0this respect?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>We have a\u00a0rather unique way of\u00a0treating rainwater directly in\u00a0the\u00a0brewery. We call it the\u00a0brewery ponds, which is a\u00a0biotope that we built here about twenty years ago. It is a\u00a0system of\u00a0several ponds through which we treat rainwater from the\u00a0brewery before we discharge it into the\u00a0Mor\u00e1vka river. In\u00a0addition, we have a\u00a0grant programme through which we support community projects around the\u00a0breweries, such as Beskydy landscape management.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\"><strong>The\u00a0brewery\u2019s\u00a0cooperation with Forests of\u00a0the\u00a0Czech Republic is well known\u2026<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Yes, cooperation with Forests of\u00a0the\u00a0Czech Republic is basically a\u00a0way to extend our approach to landscape protection to the\u00a0whole country. We are currently preparing an evaluation of\u00a0the\u00a0effect that these activities have had so far on the\u00a0total volume of\u00a0water retained.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\"><strong>How financially demanding are these activities?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>These activities come at a\u00a0cost, but they are very important to us. And they help the\u00a0brand. Our initial communication of\u00a0this initiative was very cautious, mainly because the\u00a0use of\u00a0sustainability in\u00a0communication is not so widespread in\u00a0the\u00a0Czech Republic. We put a\u00a0lot of\u00a0emphasis on being able to prove all our activities and back them up with valid research and robust methodology. Therefore, we collaborate with universities and research institutions.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\"><strong>You want to be water neutral by 2030.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Through projects that build pools and restore wetlands, we plan to retain\u00a0the\u00a0same volume of\u00a0water in\u00a0the\u00a0landscape as we use in\u00a0operations. By 2030, we aim to have enough similar projects in\u00a0place to ultimately retain\u00a0a\u00a0volume of\u00a0water equivalent to around 570\u00a0million litres, which is our annual consumption at Radegast Brewery at current operating levels.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\"><strong>Where are your activities expanding or heading next?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Cooperation with Forests of the Czech Republic in building pools and restoring wetlands is probably what is most visible now. However, we are also focusing a lot of effort on cooperation with farmers. We are aware that the Czech Republic is beginning to struggle with drought, which we see, for example, in our barley and hops suppliers. We feel that working with our suppliers from\u00a0a\u00a0value chain\u00a0perspective is the\u00a0most natural for us. Let us take the\u00a0example of\u00a0our most famous hop variety \u2013 \u017datec semi-arid red. If this variety were to disappear or if its production were to be dramatically reduced, it would have a\u00a0major impact on the\u00a0Czech brewing industry and on the\u00a0quality of\u00a0Czech beer. I\u00a0like to compare hops to spices in\u00a0food; you do not need a\u00a0lot of\u00a0it to make beer, but it is absolutely essential to the\u00a0taste and quality of\u00a0beer. Without \u017datec red, our Pilsner lager would not be what we are used to.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\"><strong>Please describe to our readers how such cooperation with farmers works.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>To give you an example, in\u00a0our three-year research project \u201cFor the\u00a0Hops\u201d we were trying to understand how hops themselves manage water and how they react to external stimuli. At six sites, we installed devices to collect and assess meteorological data, including data on soil processes. We measured soil moisture and temperature at twelve different depth horizons. At the\u00a0same time, we monitored the\u00a0development of\u00a0the\u00a0hop garden using time-lapse cameras. We went so far as to use sensors on selected plants to monitor sap flow, stem shrinkage, and assess the\u00a0stress level of\u00a0the\u00a0plant in\u00a0response to water and temperature. The\u00a0result is the\u00a0first software solution aimed at efficient irrigation of\u00a0hops. I\u00a0was surprised myself how little we actually know about hops.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\"><strong>How will you use the\u00a0results of\u00a0this research?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Last year we tested this solution on twenty-eight hop farms, roughly one tenth of\u00a0Czech hop growers. We are now in\u00a0the\u00a0process of\u00a0building a\u00a0network of\u00a0weather stations across all hop-growing regions, and we will offer our solution to other hop growers in\u00a0the\u00a0Czech Republic. We are collaborating with three technology start-ups, including a\u00a0Czech software company, and professionally with our hop-growing institute in\u00a0\u017datec. It is quite a\u00a0complex collaboration of\u00a0about forty people living on three continents and in\u00a0about fourteen different cities, which is sometimes a\u00a0bit difficult to coordinate.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\"><strong>That sounds very interesting. Can you tell us how much interest there is in\u00a0this product?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>There is definitely interest, and what I\u00a0would like to point out is that we do not ask anything from the\u00a0growers in\u00a0return. We realise that a\u00a0farmer\u2019s\u00a0decision to grow hops is not a\u00a0year-to-year decision, like other crops. It is a\u00a0decision for several years, often decades. Our offer is essentially a\u00a0service to a\u00a0small community of\u00a0hop growers, which is an important raw material for us.<\/p>\n<p>In\u00a0addition to the\u00a0technology initiatives mentioned above, we have a\u00a0project where we are testing regenerative hop growing, which basically means that we are focusing on growing crops in\u00a0the\u00a0inter-row, which is normally ploughed and nothing grows there. We are in\u00a0our third year of\u00a0cooperation with the\u00a0Czech University of\u00a0Life Sciences on about twenty-five hectares. We are looking at the\u00a0effects of\u00a0intercropping on yield, quality and soil, but also on the\u00a0amount of\u00a0organic matter in\u00a0the\u00a0soil, water-holding capacity, cooling of\u00a0the\u00a0soil during hot days, and many other things. We have observed that we can cool the\u00a0soil by two to five degrees with the\u00a0appropriate choice of\u00a0intercropping.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\"><strong>How does Radegast Brewery manage wastewater? Do you use any higher levels of\u00a0water purification or recycling?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>We do not want to have this tunnel vision where we are only dealing with water and we do not care that we will create problems elsewhere. The\u00a0associated high energy consumption is not just about cost, but also about carbon footprint. We are trying to balance the\u00a0different parts of\u00a0the\u00a0process that we are focusing on, and our possibilities are therefore limited. So, we do not really see this as a\u00a0path for breweries in\u00a0the\u00a0Czech Republic that we want to apply intensively and on a\u00a0large scale because in\u00a0our conditions it does not really make sense to us at the\u00a0moment.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\"><strong>Could the\u00a0energy needs be met by solar power?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>In\u00a0breweries where it was possible, we have solar panels on the\u00a0roofs. In\u00a0No\u0161ovice we have them on the\u00a0automated warehouse, which makes it basically energy neutral, but in\u00a0terms of\u00a0the\u00a0total consumption of\u00a0the\u00a0brewery it is about three per cent. Therefore, for us, it is more of\u00a0a\u00a0supplement, not a\u00a0final solution. However, we were able to find that in\u00a0Slovakia. While we are still looking for a\u00a0partner in\u00a0the\u00a0Czech Republic, in\u00a0the\u00a0east of\u00a0Slovakia, about fifty kilometres from our brewery, we have just launched the\u00a0largest greenfield solar park as part of\u00a0the\u00a0so-called VPPA project, which supplies electricity to the\u00a0grid which is then used in\u00a0the\u00a0brewery.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\"><strong>Regarding the\u00a0quality of\u00a0water at the\u00a0inlets, do you use raw water from your own sources or water from the\u00a0supply system?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>We have water treatment plants in\u00a0all our breweries to ensure the\u00a0parameters we need. In\u00a0No\u0161ovice we have three wells of\u00a0our own, but in\u00a0most breweries it is a\u00a0combination. In\u00a0Pilsen, for example, we have our own 100-metre-deep wells that we use for the\u00a0beer itself, but we take surface water from the\u00a0system for all the\u00a0technical processes around it, because in\u00a0that case, using groundwater would be wasteful. By the\u00a0way, this is also why Pilsner lager is not brewed anywhere else but Pilsen; whether you have it in\u00a0Tokyo or Washington, it always comes from the\u00a0same brewery and the\u00a0same brewhouse. Otherwise, we have a\u00a0multi-stage system of\u00a0controlling the\u00a0quality of\u00a0water and its parameters. We are not using carbon filtration yet; our water treatment is more parametric in\u00a0terms of\u00a0mineral content, de-ironing, etc. And in\u00a0the\u00a0next control stage, for example in\u00a0\u017delivka, its quality is monitored by live trout (laughs). The\u00a0quality of\u00a0residues of\u00a0agro-preparations and pesticides, whether in\u00a0hops or barley, is monitored both by the\u00a0agronomist and by us when we receive the\u00a0goods, and if the\u00a0analyses do not come out well, we reject the\u00a0batch and these substances do not get into the\u00a0beer.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\"><strong>How about buying these products directly from certified organic farms?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>If we wanted to convert everything to organic at our volumes, it would not be realistic. For example, there are only maybe three or four organic hop fields in\u00a0the\u00a0Czech Republic, which might be enough for a\u00a0microbrewery, but not for us. We see the\u00a0future mainly in\u00a0improving the\u00a0soil for growing hops and barley, both in\u00a0terms of\u00a0quality and carbon content and the\u00a0water-holding capacity. This is one of\u00a0the\u00a0things we have committed to at Radegast. We now have two research projects on this and then, based on the\u00a0results, we will look at ways to scale this across our suppliers.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\"><strong>Is climate change having any effect on the\u00a0quality of\u00a0our hops?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Primarily, it manifests itself in\u00a0an increase in\u00a0yield fluctuations and content of\u00a0bitter substances in\u00a0the\u00a0hops. For example, about three years ago, we had the\u00a0best harvest in\u00a0the\u00a0last century; the\u00a0year after, we had the\u00a0worst harvest since the\u00a01960s. So it is about reducing your predictability, which has implications for medium-term commitments with our partners. By having our recipes standardised for alpha bitters, essential oils and other things, we are able to compensate for that so you do not taste anything in\u00a0the\u00a0actual beer. However, it may lead to the\u00a0fact that you need twice as many hops as the\u00a0year before to achieve the\u00a0same quality of\u00a0beer, because the\u00a0concentration of\u00a0the\u00a0substances in\u00a0question is lower in\u00a0that particular harvest. And if you combine the\u00a0variation in\u00a0quality and quantity, the\u00a0year-to-year variation is very noticeable.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0worst-case scenario is a\u00a0poor harvest with low alpha acid content. However, it cannot be said that a\u00a0warmer and sunnier year \u2013 as in\u00a0the\u00a0case of\u00a0winemakers\u00a0\u2013 means better hop quality; there are many more factors at work. We generally have problems with a\u00a0higher number of\u00a0tropical days in\u00a0a\u00a0row in\u00a0a\u00a0longer rainfall-free period. To some extent, this can be compensated for by lowering the\u00a0soil temperature in\u00a0regenerative cultivation and the\u00a0plants in\u00a0the\u00a0undergrowth. The\u00a0results of\u00a0our research will give more clues.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\"><strong>What about the\u00a0other important raw material, barley?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Climate change does not have that much impact on yields, but it does have an impact on the\u00a0malt quality; we need it to have a\u00a0certain\u00a0ratio of\u00a0nitrogen, protein, and other substances to be malleable. From the\u00a0grower\u2019s\u00a0point of\u00a0view, it is actually a\u00a0bit of\u00a0a\u00a0lottery because you do not know until the\u00a0harvest whether you are going to get malting parameters in\u00a0barley or whether you will have to sell it as feed. And the\u00a0difference in\u00a0the\u00a0purchase price is often double. This risk is leading to a\u00a0lot of\u00a0growers moving away from malting barley \u2013 the\u00a0malting barley area has halved in\u00a0the\u00a0last 25 years. Within\u00a0our research, we are looking for ways to stabilise quality for growers. We are looking at changes in\u00a0sowing practices and improving soil quality, and we believe that this could be the\u00a0way forward \u2013 somewhere between organic and conventional production.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\"><strong>Is it possible to calculate how much barley is used to make beer compared to making bread? Beer is called liquid bread&#8230;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>We need about one hundred and fifty thousand tonnes of\u00a0barley per year, which is about thirty thousand hectares. If we consider that the\u00a0arable land in\u00a0the\u00a0Czech Republic is two million hectares, this is not an entirely insignificant amount. Otherwise, about one million tonnes of\u00a0malting barley are produced in\u00a0the\u00a0Czech Republic every year, of\u00a0which we account for about fifteen per cent. It is also a\u00a0very important export commodity. We export both barley and malt to many European countries. As the\u00a0Czech Republic, we are fully self-sufficient in\u00a0its production.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\"><strong>And what about the\u00a0declining trend of\u00a0\u201cgoing to the\u00a0pub\u201d in\u00a0the\u00a0Czech Republic?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>We sell about thirty-five per cent of\u00a0our beer to pubs and the\u00a0rest is domestic consumption. We are doing what we can to maintain\u00a0this ratio. We cooperate with pubs a\u00a0lot and invest about four hundred million a\u00a0year in\u00a0them to help them remain\u00a0an attractive place. We invest in\u00a0repairing their facades as well as their interiors and toilets, so it is not just about providing them with taps and glasses. We are particularly mindful of\u00a0the\u00a0quality of\u00a0beer, so we invest in\u00a0training so that the\u00a0pub staff know how to treat the\u00a0beer well. Having a\u00a0beer in\u00a0a\u00a0pub is about the\u00a0experience, there has to be some added value \u2013 a\u00a0properly chilled glass, a\u00a0well-adjusted tap. As we say: the\u00a0brewer brews the\u00a0beer and the\u00a0innkeeper makes it. The\u00a0quality of\u00a0the\u00a0beer and the\u00a0quality of\u00a0the\u00a0tapping is about half and half.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\"><strong>And what about the\u00a0phenomenon of\u00a0Czechs not drinking classic 10- and 12-degree beers so much and turning to modern beers?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>I\u00a0am going to surprise you. If I\u00a0take bottom-fermented beers in\u00a0the\u00a0sense of\u00a0lagers and draught beers, their production is definitely above ninety per cent. In\u00a0reality, Czechs still want bottom-fermented beer and the\u00a0general trend is more lager than 10-degree beer. The\u00a0Czechs are very conservative in\u00a0this respect and their consumption is built on bottom-fermented beers, especially Pilsner-type beers. In\u00a0cities, however, there is more experimentation with other types of\u00a0beer.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\"><strong>Czech breweries are competing to see who can come up with the\u00a0most bitter beer. Why do you think Czechs like bitter beer so much, whereas Western Europe, for example, tends to prefer sweet, malt, and sour beers?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>When we look at our most popular brands and the\u00a0overall character, beer in\u00a0the\u00a0Czech Republic is generally more hoppy than in\u00a0Western Europe; it is a\u00a0Czech specificity. In\u00a0Slovakia, we also see a\u00a0leaning towards more bitter and more hoppy beers. It is a\u00a0historical development and a\u00a0long-term local habit. Basically, since the\u00a0emergence of\u00a0Pilsner Urquell as the\u00a0benchmark for bitter beer, which has a\u00a0character built on local \u017datec hops, it has made its way into Czech beer culture. In\u00a0recent years, however, we have also seen sweeter and more sour beers that have their famous predecessors elsewhere in\u00a0the\u00a0world. It is also about what one likes, whether the\u00a0beer is well brewed, treated, and properly tapped. It is clear that the\u00a0younger adult generation tends to prefer less bitter beers, and we are meeting that with our range, led by Proud beer.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\">Are preferences also changing in\u00a0bottle sizes and packaging?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There is much more demand for smaller packages, which is also related to modern trends in\u00a0reducing alcohol consumption. That is why we now offer Radegast in\u00a0one-third-litre returnable bottles. In\u00a0terms of\u00a0packaging type, cans have been growing in\u00a0popularity for a\u00a0long time. We are happy to stick with returnable bottles because they are great from an environmental point of\u00a0view; we fill each bottle on average twenty-six times and we have a\u00a0ninety-eight per cent return. The\u00a0life of\u00a0a\u00a0bottle is approximately seven to eight years. If a\u00a0bottle is rotated so many times in\u00a0the\u00a0system, it is the\u00a0most environmentally friendly way to package beer ever. Of\u00a0course, the\u00a0older bottles may be a\u00a0bit worn, but we check thirty parameters of\u00a0the\u00a0bottles for quality before filling them, and if one of\u00a0them does not fit, the\u00a0bottle is discarded and goes for recycling. Conversely, the\u00a0worst option for beer in\u00a0terms of\u00a0carbon footprint and all the\u00a0other things is if you throw away a\u00a0newly produced bottle of\u00a0beer after drinking it. This means a\u00a0non-returnable bottle because it is heavy from a\u00a0distribution point of\u00a0view and it is energy intensive to produce. For us, it costs three to four times more than a\u00a0returnable bottle. Four years ago, we also reduced our ecological footprint by replacing the\u00a0aluminium and plastic part of\u00a0the\u00a0Pilsner beer label with paper. Even such a\u00a0detail has a\u00a0significant impact on the\u00a0ecology of\u00a0the\u00a0operation and only underlines our long-term path and vision.<\/p>\n<p><em>Mr. Tu\u010dn\u00edk, thank you for taking the\u00a0time to talk to us.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1da10e;\"><strong>Ing. Josef Nistler<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #1da10e;\"><strong>RNDr. Tom\u00e1\u0161 Hrdinka, Ph.D.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Rozhovor-obr-2.jpg\" rel=\"shadowbox[sbpost-35765];player=img;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-35570 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Rozhovor-obr-2-300x226.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Rozhovor-obr-2-300x226.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Rozhovor-obr-2-768x578.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Rozhovor-obr-2-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Rozhovor-obr-2.jpg 800w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/226;\" \/><\/a>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #1e960e;\">Ing. Mgr. et Mgr. Ivan Tu\u010dn\u00edk<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Ing. Mgr. et Mgr. Ivan Tu\u010dn\u00edk, born on 26th February 1986 in Pova\u017esk\u00e1 Bystrica. He graduated from Masaryk University in Brno with a Master\u2019s degree in International Relations, Business and Management, and European Studies. Prior to joining Asahi Europe &amp; International and Plze\u0148sk\u00fd Prazdroj (since September 2017), he worked as a consultant and communications manager at MAKRO Cash &amp; Carry, Bison &amp; Rose, and AMI Communications.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How does Radegast Brewery work with water when brewing beer, what are the brewery\u2019s aims regarding sustainability, to what extent does the brewery use the latest technological trends in its production, and why do we like bitter beer in the Czech Republic? The offer to be inter-viewed for our VTEI journal was accepted by Ing. Mgr. et Mgr. Ivan Tu\u010dn\u00edk from Asahi Europe &#038; International; in the Czech Republic, the company owns Radegast, Plze\u0148sk\u00fd Prazdroj, Velkopopovick\u00fd Kozel, and many other breweries across Europe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":35569,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,86,89,93],"tags":[3841,3842,120,3820,3819,3854,3855],"coauthors":[1742,30],"class_list":["post-35765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-from-the-world-of-water-management","category-hydraulics-hydrology-and-hydrogeology","category-water-technology-water-supply-waste-water-treatment","category-two-articles","tag-beer","tag-brewery","tag-interview","tag-plzensky-prazdroj","tag-radegast","tag-rainwater","tag-sustainability"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35765"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35834,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35765\/revisions\/35834"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35765"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=35765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}