Hello, beer lovers! How’s your summer been?
If you’ve been following our lineup for a while, you already know COEDO Brewery holds a special place in it. This year, COEDO gave us an even bigger reason to be proud: it just became the first alcohol producer in Japan to earn B Corp Certification.
By the end of this post, we hope you’ll understand exactly what that means, why it’s a genuinely big deal for Japan’s drinks industry, and why we’re excited to keep bringing COEDO to your table.
A Big Year for COEDO Brewery
Kyodo Shoji Co., Ltd., the Kawagoe-based company behind COEDO, has been quietly building toward this moment for decades. Founded on the belief that agriculture is the root of good food and good drink, the company has spent years developing organic farming practices, a circular brewing model, and a genuine “farm to glass” philosophy.
This year, that long-term commitment was recognized in three separate ways. We’ll walk through all three, but first, let’s cover the headline achievement.
What Is B Corp, Anyway?
B Corp Certification is an international standard run by B Lab, a U.S.-based non-profit. It’s awarded to companies that meet strict criteria across five areas: governance, workers, community, environment, and customers — roughly 200 individual evaluation points in total.
The certification isn’t about being the “best in the world.” It’s about being the “best FOR the world” — measuring how a company treats its people, its community, and the planet, not just its balance sheet.
Around 8,000 companies worldwide have earned it, including well-known names like Patagonia and Danone. In Japan, though, it’s still rare — and until this year, no alcohol producer in the country had ever received it.
That changed with COEDO.
Three Achievements, One Brewery
1. First B Corp Certified Alcohol Producer in Japan:
Kyodo Shoji, COEDO’s parent company, became the first in Japan’s alcoholic beverage industry to earn B Corp status — proof, backed by rigorous third-party verification, of genuinely responsible management.
2. Champion Medium International Brewery, AIBA 2026:
At the 2026 Australian International Beer Awards, one of the largest beer competitions in the world, COEDO took home the “Champion Medium International Brewery” trophy. Out of roughly 2,200 entries from 22 countries, 6 of COEDO’s 7 submitted beers won medals — 1 gold, 2 silver, and 3 bronze.
3. Selected as One of Japan’s “300 Thriving SMEs”:
Japan’s Small and Medium Enterprise Agency named Kyodo Shoji to its “300 Thriving Small and Medium-sized Enterprises” list, citing the company’s AI-assisted product development, IoT-enabled brewing processes, and its in-house “Agri-Brewery” model — plus an export ratio of 30% across 30 countries.
Quality and responsibility, recognized in the same year.
How COEDO Actually Lives This Out
It’s one thing to earn a certification. It’s another to build it into daily operations. Here’s what that looks like at COEDO:
Nothing goes to waste. 100% of the spent malt from brewing is passed on to local livestock farmers as feed. Wastewater goes through a methane fermentation plant that extracts biogas, which is reused as clean energy. Starting this year, even the leftover sludge from brewing will be composted through a Saitama Prefecture-supported project — closing the loop almost entirely.
The soil comes first. COEDO’s roots go back to organic farming free of synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, protecting soil biodiversity and the surrounding ecosystem for the long run.
It’s written into the strategy, not just the mission statement. B Corp standards are now formally built into Kyodo Shoji’s mid-term management plan, with a “stakeholder management” approach that treats consumers, local communities, and the environment as core business priorities — not side projects.
Final Thoughts
What did you think of COEDO’s story?
It’s easy to find beer that tastes good. It’s much harder to find a brewery that’s built its entire business — sourcing, brewing, waste, governance — around doing right by the people and the land it depends on. COEDO has spent decades quietly doing exactly that, and this year, the world took notice.
