Sober-Curious, Climate-Conscious
- 6 days ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 9 hours ago
Why America’s Youth-Led Drop in Alcohol Use May Benefit Public Health and the Environment
Recent Gallup polling shows that alcohol consumption in the United States has dropped to its lowest level in nearly 90 years, with drinkers reporting they are drinking less—and less frequently. A record low of 54% of adults are now drinking in the US, down from 67% just a few years ago. Younger adults, aged 18–35, are driving this decline, as they increasingly prioritize their health.
Discussions about declining alcohol use focus on personal health and cultural changes, but an important but less explored angle is the environmental impact of alcohol production and consumption. It begs the question: Could drinking less benefit both people and the planet?
Health over Harm
Although the scientific consensus on alcohol safety is currently evolving, human civilizations and cultures, with few exceptions, have embraced alcoholic beverages from ancient times to today. “Alcohol has been a ubiquitous presence across diverse societies, from ancient Mesopotamia, where beer was a staple, to the wine-centric cultures of Greece and Rome, and the sake traditions of Japan,” says CyAlcohol, which publishes articles on the history and world of alcohol.
Alcohol markets are all expecting more sales and consumers: The global beer market is expected to grow from $821.39 billion in 2023 to more than $1 trillion by 2030, according to a 2026 Gitnux marketing report. World wine sales, now valued at $71.44 billion, are also expected to grow to $81.69 billion by 2035, reports Business Research Insights, while the global spirits market is expected to increase from its current value of $424.82 billion to $641.84 billion by 2033, says Grand View Research.
All these reports, however, note shifts in consumer interests, with rising concerns about health, calorie counts, and environmental sustainability.
Meanwhile, public health officials are stepping up their warnings about alcohol intake. According to the World Health Organization, no amount of alcohol is considered completely safe for human consumption. Alcohol use is the primary cause of over 200 diseases and injuries and increases the risk of developing some noncommunicable diseases, including various cancers, cardiovascular strain, and chronic illnesses. It contributes to more than 20,000 annual cancer deaths in the US alone.
“It is the most harmful drug—especially due to its vast social harm,” Maik Dünnbier, director of strategy and advocacy at Movendi International, an independent global movement for development through alcohol prevention, told The Earth & I.
Gallup’s data show a rising public belief that even moderate drinking is harmful—an important social factor in consumption decline. “The changing conversation about alcohol, including the serious doubt that has been cast on decades of studies that claimed alcohol was good for heart health, is probably also having some influence,” Professor David Jernigan, Department of Health Law, Policy, and Management at the Boston University School of Public Health, told The Earth & I. Jernigan coauthored a study published in 2020 in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs that examined the alcohol marketing landscape, including the industry’s size, structure, strategies, and public health response.
Gallup’s data show a rising public belief that even moderate drinking is harmful—an important social factor in consumption decline.
Alcohol’s Environmental Footprint
There is now discussion about the alcohol industry’s links to environmental degradation. The processes required to produce the industry’s global alcohol output contribute to carbon emissions, water depletion, habitat disruption, and waste, but more research is being called for.
While the impact of the alcohol industry on the environment is relatively underexplored, what is known is that the alcohol industry is resource-intensive: from crop cultivation for ingredients to energy-heavy fermentation and distillation. “It is massive. A real and growing community concern. And extremely underreported,” said Dünnbier.
A Manchester University study, cited in numerous online sources, estimated that the global alcoholic beverage industry produces around 1.5 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions annually—comparable to emissions from more than 200 million cars.
In its comprehensive report on alcohol, Movendi International says that alcohol is an obstacle to sustainable development. Big Liquor’s challenges are connected to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, particularly responsible consumption and production (#12), climate action (#13), and life on land (#15). But Movendi International says the impact is greater than that: “Alcohol harm affects 15 of 17 Sustainable Development Goals and all dimensions of development,” Dünnbier said.
Waste from packaging and wastewater are also significant but unknown. “It’s a serious problem, but there’s too little documentation of cases in real life and too little scientific study,” Dünnbier said.
Knowledge on whether lower consumption meaningfully reduces pressure on municipal waste systems and freshwater ecosystems is therefore not known. “There has been little systematic research on this,” Jernigan confirmed. What scientists do know is that litter from bottles and cans is substantial, particularly in high-drinking environments.
Emphasizing the global threat posed by climate change, scientists in a 2024 study called for more research into the environmental impacts of alcohol production. They stated that, while investigations have been minimal, “the extent of the unfolding catastrophe behooves us to consider all available ways to mitigate unnecessary emissions, including from products such as alcohol.”
And Dünnbier adds it’s logical that “reducing the population’s level of alcohol consumption means a reduction in alcohol production and thus a decline in environmental pressures” such as siphoning off groundwater and taking farmland to build breweries and distilleries.
Youth Seek Other Drinks
There has been a documented shift in attitude among younger people toward drinking alcohol. Gen Z and Millennials increasingly prefer drinking exotic herb- or spice-infused libations, bottled sodas and teas that are overtly healthy and that may have prebiotics or probiotics added, and concoctions that mimic dessert flavors like pecan pie, tiramisu, or orange sherbet. The more unusual and visually appealing the better.
As younger consumers opt for an alcohol-free lifestyle, this is having a knock-on effect on sales and the viability of large production facilities.
Despite market predictions of industry growth, a staggering $830 billion in market value has been wiped from the world’s largest beer, wine, and spirits companies over the past four years—now standing at 46% below their June 2021 peak, according to a Bloomberg tracking index.
Dwindling liquor consumption, high prices of products, household belt-tightening, and now even tariffs were just a few of the reasons for the downturn. “There is a structural change going on—people are drinking less,” Sarah Simon, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, said in the article in The Drinks Business.
In January 2026, renowned bourbon whiskey producer and 230-year-old industry stalwart Jim Beam announced that it would be pausing production at its main Clermont, Kentucky, USA, distillery for the entire year. This is a first cessation for the distillery in the modern era.
Forbes blamed the industry decline on a “potent mix of trade tensions, oversupply, shifting consumer habits, and mounting health concerns.”
The phenomenon sparking the alcohol consumption declines among younger generations has been given a name: the “sober-curious” movement. This trend is due in part to younger Americans spending more time alone on their phones and less time engaged with peers in behaviors such as drinking. The implications of having their lives captured on social media are also driving the cultural shift, as young people are aware of the reputational and career damage this phenomenon can cause.
The fear of social sanctions for not drinking is also disappearing. “This young generation has a greater focus on doing what they can to cope, get and stay engaged, and contribute to change—and in this, they perceive alcohol to be a hindrance,” said Dünnbier.
The fear of social sanctions for not drinking is also disappearing.
Environmental awareness and climate activism may also play a key role. “The data that I know shows that values of well-being—living healthy lives—and values of caring about the climate, nature, and the environment—living sustainably—intersect and amplify each other,” said Dünnbier.
Industries’ Big Marketing Influence
People have a right to know—anchored in human rights treaties—about risk and harm exposure in their environments and communities. But to alcohol opponents, the alcohol industry works to keep people in the dark about the inherent risks and harm in its products.
In his coauthored study, Jernigan found that advertising expenditure is both high and widespread. Given the world's level of alcohol-related harm, the authors highlighted that, to guide policymakers in effective regulation, recommendations and best practices at global and regional levels are needed.
In its Big Alcohol Exposed Report 2024 and update, the Big Alcohol Exposed 2025: A Web of Interference, Movendi International identified the alcohol industry’s impact on nature and the environment. “Because of these greenhouse gas emissions, we need to be careful and critical of the alcohol industry’s activity trying to appear responsible, caring, and a ‘good corporate citizen,’” Dünnbier said.
Alcohol Production Innovations
Striving for circularity is not new to local or international brewing and distilling.
Bridging the Gap, an environmental organization involved in local advocacy and volunteering work in Kansas City, sees area liquor businesses tackling the pollution, water use, and packaging impacts of the industry. Boulevard Brewing Co., for instance, is recycling and composting waste to become a zero-landfill brewing operation. The founders also established Ripple Glass to facilitate the recycling of glass bottles.
On the international level, many alcoholic beverage producers have seen the writing on the wall and are taking steps to address environmental concerns by making bottles lighter (with thinner glass), adopting recyclable packaging materials, using heat pumps for manufacturing needs, and relying on renewables-generated electricity in the production process. Heineken, for example, has made a policy decision to make sustainability the core of its procurement and supply chain systems.
One final point emphasized by Movendi International is that the drinking public needs to become far more aware not only of the health consequences of consuming alcohol but of the environmental impact. And this can be done with the help of national-level health advisory groups. Movendi asks: Is there room to soon see environmental considerations integrated into public health guidance? And Dünnbier, referring to Mexican and Nordic dietary guidelines that already exist and that combine public health with environmental and sustainability considerations, said: “Yes, there is room, and it is already being addressed.”
*Natasha Spencer-Jolliffe is a freelance journalist and editor. Over the past 10 years, Natasha has reported for a host of publications, exploring the wider world and industries from environmental, scientific, business, legal, and sociological perspectives. Natasha has also been interviewed as an insight provider for research institutes and conferences.