Translations

HEINEKEN 'Brewing a better world", a pragmatic approach and achievement

4. Environment

Energy / Greenhouse Gases (GHG)

Sector Food-processing

Year 2015

Country France

Transmitter

Context

Founded in Amsterdam over 150 years ago, HEINEKEN now has an operation in France employing 1,300 with three breweries in Mons-en-Barœul (department 59), Marseille (13) and Schiltigheim (67). In 2009, HEINEKEN became France's first brewer to publish a Sustainable Development report, focusing on its 6-point approach entitled "Brewing a Better World!":

Protecting water resources; reducing CO2 emissions; practicing responsible procurement; promoting responsible alcohol consumption; providing for employee health and safety; and committing to joint action.

Objectives

The objectives over a horizon extending to 2020:

Protecting water resources: 30% less water consumption per hectoliter being brewed;
Reducing CO2 emissions by 40% during brewing, 20% in distribution and 50% during cooling;
Practicing responsible procurement: 100% of suppliers committed to HEINEKEN's 4-step responsible purchasing approach.

But also: promoting responsible alcohol consumption both in-house and externally; providing for employee health and safety, and implementing a set of societal commitments.

APPROACH

The "Brewing a Better World" approach was organized as of the end of 2008. A Sustainable Development Committee representing the company' various trades meets quarterly in order to: pilot the projects, involve employees in strategic decision-making, and ensure implementation of the full approach.

In 2009, HEINEKEN France published its 1st Sustainable Development report, and its year 2020 objectives were made public. Since then, HEINEKEN France has annually published its progress towards achieving these 6 key criteria by means of an online Sustainable Development report.

CONTRIBUTION TO COMPANY PERFORMANCE

A drop in CO2 emissions, achieved for example by lowering heat and electricity consumption in production or lowering fuel consumption in transportation uses, thus leading to financial savings.
HEINEKEN France has been certified as a "Top Employer" since 2009. The Top Employer Institute study evaluates all the key areas associated with human resources, including workplace conditions and CSR; moreover, the Institute certifies organizations capable of demonstrating a continual optimization of workplace conditions for their employees in enriching the job experience.
HEINEKEN France's entire CSR approach was awarded the 2015 Silver Responsible Economy Trophy.

Benefits

By the end of 2014:

22% less water per hectoliter was being brewed;
18% less CO2 introduced in the brewery, and 23.2% less CO2 generated by distribution activities;
100% of suppliers had signed the HEINEKEN Code of Ethics;
100% of HEINEKEN products sold in France were displaying the alcohol unit equivalent and referring to the www.2340.fr site, which explains the benchmarks for low-risk consumption based on recommendations issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Healthy Nutrition Program (PNNS).