Pernod Ricard: Promoting Responsible Consumption

21 Jul 2014 --- Last week, ICAP released a communication on progress made in 2013 by the world’s thirteen largest producers of alcoholic beverages to reduce excessive or inappropriate consumption. Whether these initiatives are introduced individually or as collective programmes, these results show continually growing commitment from the whole industry.

In the same spirit, Pernod Ricard has drawn up a first review of the action plans implemented since the signing of the five commitments made by all industry players in October 2012. This review highlighted the progress made based on performance indicators developed by Accenture Sustainability Services and certified by KPMG Sustainability.

Pernod Ricard has always been actively committed to promoting responsible consumption. During the 2012/13 financial year, 91% of subsidiaries had implemented such an initiative, some of which are detailed below:

- Reduce underage drinking
- Pernod Ricard Nordic and The Absolut Company participate in a prevention and education programme on alcohol at school, which delays the age alcohol is consumed for the first time and prevents binge drinking. More than 5,000 teachers and 250,000 students have taken part in the “Prata Om Alkohol” programme. Given the results achieved, the programme has been extended to Denmark, Finland and Estonia.
- Reduce drinking and driving
- In 2012/13, 76% of subsidiaries carried out at least one drink driving awareness programme. For example, Pernod Ricard China is running initiatives in partnership with the Chinese road safety authority, Pernod Ricard India is developing a project in cooperation with the truck drivers trade unions and Pernod Ricard UK created the Accept Responsibility campaign in partnership with the Automobile Association.
- Strengthen and expand marketing codes of practice
- Since 2005, an Internal Approval Panel of 5 individuals, independent of marketing, ensures that the Code for Commercial Communications is properly applied. It reviews and approves all the advertising campaigns of the Group’s 18 strategic brands. In 2013, this control was extended to the 18 local brands and to innovations. In 2012/13, 99.6% of the campaigns reviewed complied with the Code.
- Provide consumer information and develop responsible product innovations
- Pernod Ricard is committed to informing women about the risks of drinking alcohol during pregnancy and recommends “zero alcohol”. In 2006, the Group proactively affixed the “pregnant woman” prevention symbol, mandatory in France, to bottles distributed in Europe. In 2013, the Group went a step further by affixing this logotype to all bottles sold by the Group worldwide**.
- Enlist the support of retailers to reduce harmful drinking
- In Slovakia, in partnership with the PSR Slovakia Forum (association of producers, distributors and importers of alcoholic beverages), Pernod Ricard has developed dedicated tools to help bar staff be more responsible. The objective is to make them genuinely proactive in combatting excessive alcohol consumption among minors and deny them access to bars. The “Not 18? Not a chance!” programme trained a total of 2,914 bar staff in 1,094 premises.

On the release of this first review, Jean Rodesch, Vice-President, Institutional Affairs and CSR, specified that: “In 2012, Pierre Pringuet, the Group’s CEO, had been the industry’s spokesperson to commit the entire sector, namely 13 signatories, to the five most significant areas of prevention, with these 5 commitments requiring implementation within five years. At the end of this first year, we already have good reason to be pleased with the work achieved by each of our subsidiaries and employees. We will continue on the same path. We are committed to carrying out an annual review of Pernod Ricard’s progress to reduce excessive and inappropriate alcohol consumption.”