Heineken highlights sustainable progress in new report

Heineken has published a new combined financial and sustainability annual report.

The 2019 combined report includes the progress the brewery has made towards its sustainability goals.

At present, Heineken runs five of the world’s 10 largest on-site solar powered breweries. The company has 29 renewable energy projects underway around the world looking at how they can harness the power of wind and solar energy, biomass and biogas.

Since 2008, Heineken has been working to improve the energy efficiency of their breweries. Last year, the company introduced a new initiative Drop the C which aims to reduce their carbon footprint. The programme is now embedded throughout the business and they say, “good progress has been made.”

In the opening statement, Jean-François van Boxmeer Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO, said: “We aim to reduce our plastic use and contribute to increased collection and recycling of plastic where possible. To have the biggest positive impact, we use regional strategies that take into account the maturity of each region, the local use of plastic, and the current availability of recycling infrastructure.”

As beer is 95 per cent water, Heineken will also focus on using a sustainable water supply. Over the past decade, Heineken has lowered their water use by almost a third.

To ensure this rate of efficiency continues, the company has introduced 2030 targets, including looking at water circularity with a goal of treating 100 per cent of wastewater from all breweries.

To keep watersheds healthy and communities thriving, local water users must replenish the water they use. Heineken say with their initiative ‘Every Drop’ they are investing time and money in activities like reforestation, landscape restoration and water capture, and work closely with other water users to protect vital watersheds.