InBev brochure - 2018 by FDF World

AB InBev BETTER BEER AND A BETTER WORLD

AB InBev TOASTING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE IN AFRICA WRITTEN BY

LAURA MULLAN PRODUCED BY

STUART IRVING

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Brewing the highest quality beers depends on ingredients from a healthy environment and thriving communities. With its 2025 sustainability goals underway, AB InBev is cementing its future in Africa B InBev is undergoing what you could call a ‘sustainable renaissance’. Earlier this year, the beer giant unveiled its ambitious sustainability goals for 2025, channelling a forward-thinking vision that hopes to promote high environmental standards and help local communities thrive. As part this plan, AB InBev is championing five key principles; smart agriculture, water stewardship, circular packaging and climate action, and perhaps nowhere is this more evident than at its operations in Africa. In 2017, AB InBev acquired rival SABMiller, which made waves in the alcohol sector and cemented its position as the largest beer company in the world. In her previous role, Zoleka Lisa worked at South African Breweries, a subsidiary of SABMiller, but post-merger she rose through the ranks to become AB InBev’s Procurement Director of Capabilities and Sustainability. “It’s a role which I hold close to my heart, as it has the opportunity to

Zoleka Lisa, Procurement Director of Capabilities and Sustainability

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shift the needle of the socio-economic climate we find ourselves in, in Africa,” Lisa says. As the largest beer company in the world, AB InBev’s brewing heritage spans across continents and generations. This mammoth scale can be a challenge, even more so

when the firm has pledged to uphold some of the industry’s highest sustainability standards. For Lisa, this commitment to sustainability only goes to show that AB InBev may have a robust business acumen, but it hasn’t forgotten the importance of the environment and

“AB InBev is a company which genuinely wants to do good by uplifting communities and promoting the drive towards sustainability” — Zoleka Lisa, Procurement Director of Capabilities and Sustainability

community it relies upon. “AB InBev is a company which genuinely wants to do good by uplifting communities and promoting the drive towards sustainability,” explains Lisa. “Success for AB InBev goes beyond just the bot-

tom line but resonates in building communities and ensuring the way in which we live in the world is sustainable. For me, it is an admirable trait for a large corporate to be so determined to shift the needle in a positive way. This is what

HEADS UP! TO MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE.

We support AB Inbev’s Sustainability Goals by promoting glass reuse and recycling in South Africa. • • • •

By encouraging glass resuse and recycling in South Africa we have achieved a 82% diversion rate of glass from landfill Our returnable bottle system is one of the most efficient in the world All new glass packaging has a 41.5% recycled glass content Each recycled and reused glass bottle saves valuable energy, landfill space, reduces CO2 emissions and generates a source of income for thousands of South Africans

We are proud to be associated with AB Inbev and give them a “Heads Up” to making the world a better place. www.facebook.com/TheGlassRecyclingCo

@TRGC Website: www.tgrc.co.za

makes me so proud to say I work for AB InBev.” After much deliberation, the company’s four focus areas were chosen as they were seen to present the biggest risk or opportunity for AB InBev as a company. Yet, specifically in Africa, AB InBev added a fifth additional pillar: entrepreneurship. “Given the significant emphasis across the continent on employment, job creation, and the development of SME’s to alleviate poverty, we felt this

was an import area to include under the Zones sustainability strategy,” notes Lisa. “In the majority of locations where we operate, AB InBev is a local brewer,” she continues. “We sell our products to the local community; our employees live in the communities we operate in and we rely on local resources to produce our products. “To ensure we can carry on operating for the next 100+ years, we have a vested interest in ensuring that we can support w w w. a b - i n b e v. c o m

“ S uccess for AB InBev goes beyond just the bottom line, but resonates in building communities and ensuring the way in which we live in the world is sustainable”

thriving local economic development to support market growth.” Zeroing in on its smart agriculture goal, AB InBev has pledged that 100% of its direct farmers will soon be skilled, connected and financially-empowered. With this in mind, technology is set to play a key role. Malt barley is one of the — primary ingredients in beer Zoleka Lisa, Procurement Director of Capabilities and Sustainability and AB InBev places a high priority on cultivating only the best quality barley for its beer. Aiming to tended to over apply fertiliser revolutionise the agriculture sector, AB which not only increased costs InBev launched its SmartBarley programme but had a negative impact on the in 2013 and today, it plays a pivotal role in environment. This data-enabled its operations in Africa. Leveraging data platform allowed farmers to see technology and insights, SmartBarley is this trend first-hand. helping farmers improve both their produc“We are committed to being at tivity and environmental performance. the forefront of malting barley More than 5,000 farmers have participated research, helping our farmers in SmartBarley so far and the data gathered improve yields and reduce the allows AB InBev to identify and address use of resources like water and gaps through a range of agronomic, envifertilizers,” says Lisa. “Now we ronmental and management initiatives. are taking SmartBarley to the So, for instance, when used in Mexico, next level by using the data to SmartBarley showed that some farmers build sustainability metrics and w w w. a b - i n b e v. c o m

“ For me, it is an admirable trait for a large corporate to be so determined to shift the needle in a positive way. This is what makes me so proud to say I work for AB InBev” — Zoleka Lisa, Procurement Director of Capabilities and Sustainability

S TAT I S T I C S

AB InBev’s 2025 Sustainability Goals • Smart Agriculture: 100% of its direct farmers will be skilled, connected and financially-empowered. • Water Stewardship: 100% of its communities in high stress areas will have measurably improved water availability and quality. • Circular Packaging: 100% of its products will be in packaging that is returnable or made from majority recycled content. • Climate Action: 100% of its purchased electricity will be from renewable sources; and a 25% reduction in CO2 emissions across our value chain (science-based).

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“ U ltimately we believe that it’s only when we address water risk issues at source, in collaboration with partners, that we can achieve lasting, sustainable, solutions to water resource management”

create predictive analytics to help farmers access better insights to make decisions.” In addition, AB InBev has tasked itself with promoting water stewardship. To achieve this, it is making improvements to its plant water use efficiency and is also supporting partners that work to protect and conserve the valuable resource it so heavily relies upon. “To this extent, each of our breweries has mapped out — Zoleka Lisa, Procurement Director of where water use can be Capabilities and Sustainability improved,” comments Lisa. “Globally we have set a target of achieving a water use ratio of 2.8 hl/hl by 2025.” ners to support water As part of this, the beer producer has creconservation at a catchment ated partnerships with both the cities of level,” adds Lisa. “Ultimately Tshwane and Cape Town (in South Africa) to we believe that it’s only when find new ways to conserve or augment water we address water risk issues at supplies. This has seen new pressure mansource, in collaboration with agement systems implemented as well as partners, that we can achieve the rehabilitation of natural springs and lasting, sustainable, solutions wells. In Tshwane alone, the beer firm has to water resource management. been able to add an extra 9600kl per day An example of this is the Outinto the municipal system. eniqua partnership ABInBev “We are also working actively with parthas developed with the World w w w. a b - i n b e v. c o m

“ S ustainability is not just related to our business, it is our business” — Zoleka Lisa, Procurement Director of Capabilities and Sustainability

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Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in George, South Africa. “The area is strategically important to AB InBev as is the only area in the country where hops are exclusively grown,” explains Lisa. “However, the infestation of invasive alien vegetation that causes a loss of surface water flow in the river system due to the amount of water the vegetation consumes.” The Outeniqua project has helped to clear around 700 hectares of this vegetation in the

past four years so that it can be replaced less water-hungry indigenous alternatives. The project hopes to return approximately one billion litres of water per year – water that is needed to support development in the region and create AB InBev’s wide-reaching portfolio of beers. Like many companies in the food and beverage space, AB InBev has recognised that the tide is changing when it comes to packaging. As such, the beer giant has also pledged to use cirw w w. a b - i n b e v. c o m

cular packaging by 2025. To achieve this in the Africa region, AB InBev has strived to make its packaging more sustainable and has also improved the systems that help to remove post-consumer packaging waste. “The majority of our beer volumes on the African continent is distributed in returnable bottles,” says Lisa. “These bottles, in turn, can be reused up to 20 times before being crushed and reused to manufacture new glass bottles. The use of returnable packaging can significantly reduce the environmental impact of our packaging. At the same time, we also look for opportunities to optimise our packaging by, for example, by reducing the weight of our bottles. By doing this we reduce the amount of raw materials required to produce the bottles.” Recognising the role it has to play in removing packaging from the market, the beer producer has also helped to invest in recycling initiatives such as Manja Pamodzi or ‘Hands Together’. “This serves not only to reduce litter and the impact on landfills but also forms an important input into supplying recycled materials that can be reused in packaging production,” Lisa adds. As part of its sustainability drive, AB

“ I n 2018 our South African subsidiary initiated a project to implement solar energy on its brewery roofs which, once complete, will account for approximately 10% of our annual country electricity purchases” — Zoleka Lisa, Procurement Director of Capabilities and Sustainability

InBev has looked at its energy resources, pledging that, by 2025, 100% of its purchased electricity will be from renewable sources. The beer giant has also vowed to reduce its CO2 emissions by 25% across its value chain. “In 2018 our South African subsidiary initiated a project to implement solar energy on its brewery roofs which, once complete, will account for approximately 10% of our annual country electricity purchases,” highlights Zoleka. “As a zone, we are reviewing similar on-site opportunities in Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia.” It’s easy to forget that a lot of effort, time and energy goes into making AB InBev’s renowned beers. A single bottle of Budweiser wouldn’t be possible without barley and hops or the farmers who grew those ingredients in the first place. Recognising this, AB InBev has rejected a “tick-box” approach to sustainability and is striving to

do not what it ‘can’ do, but what it ‘should’ do. “At the heart of it, AB InBev is a brewery which cares,” reflects Lisa. “It is in a constant and active pursuit of making a positive impact to the world in which we live. This allows us to be strong industry leaders in the business as far as sustainability goes, as we are able to deliver that extra punch of passion, which large corporates so often lack. Sustainability is not just related to our business, it is our business.”

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Anheuser-Busch InBev

56 Grosvenor Rd, Bryanston, Sandton, 2191, South Africa 2191

T +27 11 407 1700 | www.ab-inbev.com