Great Beer

Grows Here

Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2021

There’s something about putting your hands in the earth that keeps your mind on the planet and the future. As a 100% grower-owned, multi-generational company, it’s nearly impossible for us to overlook the impact of every business decision on the environment and local economy, not to mention, our customers, employees and communities.

In addition to ensuring the availability of top-quality hops to brewers around the world, our efforts are always focused on improving the world around us.

Process

Maintaining a healthy supply chain.

Our culture is built on a foundation of continuous improvement to provide our customers with the highest quality hop products and promote environmentally sustainable practices throughout all operations from propagation to pint. As a grower-owned organization, we have the unique ability to play an active role in the grower side of the supply chain.

It all starts in the field and hop farming, like all farming, takes a lot of capital. Smart investments in land, facilities and people ensure the long-term availability of sustainably grown northwest hops to meet global demand.

We deeply respect the growers and family farms that continue to supply us with world-class hops year after year and are dedicated to doing right by them. Each year, we distribute an industry-leading percentage of our earnings back to the growers, referred to as our return-to-grower (RTG), to help them make continuous improvements, reinvest in their farms and continue their legacy. Each year, we make grower distributions based on the earnings for that particular year

76% PROFIT*

Amount of the revenue returned to growers for hops sold. *CY2019

95% LOCAL HOPS

Sourced from Washington, Oregon and Idaho farms.

55+ FAMILY FARMS

Produced and Supplied raw hops to YCH. *CY2019

Planet

Healthy hops require a healthy planet.

Recognizing the intrinsic relationship between healthy hops and a healthy planet, it was only natural for us as a grower owned company to embrace the need to incorporate environmentalism into our overall business approach. Simply put, we understand that in order to reap the benefits of a bountiful harvest year after year, appropriate measures must be put in place to preserve the natural resources we heavily rely on to ensure the quality of our hops.

This ideology is also applied within our facilities as we have invested in equipment and process improvements that allow us to lessen our overall impact on the planet, while simultaneously reducing our carbon footprint. Our long-term success as a company is dependent upon the health of the planet. This mindset forces us to operate with a holistic view of our environmental impact, being mindful of our business activities and striving to do the right thing while satisfying our customers’ expectations.

359,005 KILOWATT HOURS

Electricity generated from onsite solar panels.

1,873,581 GALLONS

Water reclaimed to help support local avian habitat & recharge the groundwater.

508,790 LBS

Amount of locally recycled cardboard.

PEOPLE

Being a responsible neighbor, globally.

Different perspectives help us all to achieve more. There are billions of people on this planet with valuable skills to offer and an incredible drive to succeed. RWe believe that an organization becomes stronger with increasing diversity and strive to employ people with varying experiences and backgrounds. It is this unique blend of employees that helps us to meet the challenges and opportunities of today’s world as we expand into more international and complex settings. We embrace the different perspectives that each employee brings to the table while we navigate the various needs and cultures of the global brewing community.

Since our inception, Yakima Chief Hops has built a strong legacy of giving back to our communities in which we live, work, and play. We are committed to enriching the lives of our community members by providing employees with opportunities to actively participate in our Give Back program. These programs range from offering paid volunteer hours for employees to engage in local nonprofits, to participating in our Community Blends program which supports worthy causes through collaborative development of new hop blends.

1,022 HOURS

Hours of skill-based volunteering donated by employees.

40 ORGANIZATIONS

Number of local community partners.

$278,000

Amount donated to local non-profit organizations.

CSR Report

Download our annual Corporate Social Responsibility Reports to read more about our efforts to bring value to our employees, enrich our communities and protect our natural resources. You can also learn more about our certifications here.

BEER IS COMMUNITY

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