Sustainability Report 2013: Heineken On Its Way to Meet 2020 Commitments

11 Apr 2014 --- Heineken N.V. has published its 2013 Sustainability Report, which outlines the company's progress toward its 2020 commitments.

Key activities and achievements for the year include:

Reducing CO2 emissions - A key highlight of the year is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of 119 kton CO2 in 2013, or almost 2,400 trips around the globe with a fully loaded 30-ton Heineken beer truck.

This result can be attributed to the improved energy efficiency of Heineken's operations (-3.9%) as well as using more renewable energy both through on-site production and the purchase of renewable electricity in breweries in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Poland and the UK. Overall, the percentage of renewable electricity increased from 9.3% in 2012 to 18 per cent, i.e. a total of 358,100,000 kWh. This amount could supply more than 592,000 households in Nigeria with electricity for one entire year.

Finally, 99 per cent of the 116,000 refrigerators that Heineken purchased in 2013 were 'green', resulting in an average energy saving of 40 per cent compared with the baseline year 2010.

Protecting water resources - In 2013, Heineken's specific water consumption again decreased to 4.1 hl/hl, down from 4.2 hl in 2012. In absolute terms, this improvement could provide almost 50,000 people in Singapore with their annual water consumption volume.

Our Water Stewardship programme for production units in water-scarce and distressed areas is under way in 18 production units with 10 breweries in Mexico, Spain and Ethiopia which have developed a Source Water Protection Plan in 2013.

Heineken's Mexican operation joined a multi-stakeholder consortium to establish the Monterrey Metropolitan Water Fund. This initiative won the Corporate Water Stewardship Award at the Global Water Summit 2014 in Paris this week.

Sourcing sustainably - In 2013, Heineken increased its sourcing of raw materials in Africa to 46 per cent. The 2020 commitment is to have 60 per cent of raw materials used to brew our beers in Africa sourced locally.

In 2013 Heineken started three new Public-Private Partnership projects in Ethiopia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone linked to this commitment. Heineken currently sources agricultural raw materials locally in 11 Operating Companies and have agriculture projects running in eight countries across Africa, involving more than 100,000 farmer families.

As at the end of 2013, more than 42,000 of Heineken's local suppliers have signed the Supplier Code that outlines key elements of integrity, environment and human rights - an increase of 8,000 over the previous year.

Advocating responsible consumption -The Heineken brand's new 'Dance More, Drink Slow' digital campaign was launched in partnership with world-famous DJ Armin van Buuren. This complements the existing 'Sunrise' campaign. Heineken will invest 10 per cent of its global media spend on its flagship Heineken brand to promote moderate consumption.

In addition to the Heineken brand campaigns, Heineken increased to 36 the number of local market partnerships that focus on combatting the harmful use of alcohol.

In line with12 major alcohol companies, Heineken is also progressing actions in relation to five global commitments aimed at reducing the harmful use of alcohol. These relate to
- Reduce underage drinking
- Strengthen and expand marketing codes of practice
- Provide consumer information and responsible product innovation
- Reduce drinking and driving
- Enlist the support of retailers to reduce harmful drinking

A separate report on progress on these commitments has been commissioned by the major alcohol companies and will be published later in the year.

Stimulating new ideas
Jean-François van Boxmeer, Chairman of the Executive Board & CEO, says: "Heineken is a global company that spans many industries - agriculture, manufacturing, hospitality and transport, to name just a few. Our focused approach to sustainability creates a strong platform for meaningful engagement and sharing ideas across all our stakeholders. This engagement is beginning to stimulate new ideas and thinking that have a clear, positive impact on our business and on society - our local sourcing initiatives in Africa and our highly differentiated approach to advocating responsible consumption are just two examples."