Stone & Wood
James Perrin
Episode 8
Stone & Wood | James Perrin on business and beer being a force for good
Byron Bay born and raised, Stone & Wood brews and bottles it’s popular beer in the Northern Rivers.
The company began when three mates chose to set up in Byron Bay in 2008.
They had a shared vision of building a conscious business and creating a village brewery for locals, friends passing through and those true Stone & Wood fans. Years later and they’re still fiercely independent, community focused and have brought they’re brewery dreams to life with not only one brewery in Byron but a second in Murwillumbah.
These guys truly do it for the love of it – they haven’t sold out to the multinational ‘craft brewery’ set. They know what they stand for, they remain proudly handcrafted and have proven that they meet high standards of social and environmental accountability that they originally set out to achieve.
We talked to their Sustainability Manager, James Perrin, about the companies relentless focus on sustainability and community. He has been a driving force in the businesses involvement with B-Corp, a growing community dedicated to being agents of positive change where companies are certified for they’re positive social and environmental impact. He’s developed initiatives to reduce the companies footprint and support the local community, such as they’re current Green Feet program or Karma Kegs. He also talks about what it means to be a ‘conscious business’ and what a huge positive impact it could have on the planet if more companies aimed their sights on improving their business practises and really supporting their local community to achieve great things collectively.
“In the last 10-20 years we’ve seen a massive shift… back to local boutique independent craft brewers. It’s really synonymous with this localisation movement – people wanting to know where their products are coming from, where it’s made, buying locally, sourcing locally…. We’re going to see it in every industry. This shift towards localisation.”
— James Perrin, Stone & Wood

Stone & Wood | James Perrin
Podcast
Mentioned in conversation…
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The role business can and is playing in activating change at this critical time for our environment.
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The shifts are we seeing in businesses approach to sustainability globally.
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The responsibility consumers have to play in this movement of business making good.
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Stone and Wood’s approach to sustainability including environmental initiatives, community initiatives, and employee engagement.
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The advice James would you give to small businesses starting on their sustainability journey