SABMiller Sustainable Development Report 2016; Embedding Prosper into the Business
2015 was a momentous year for sustainable development. Now that the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris climate agreement are in place, we are all turning our attention to how we achieve these goals.
SABMiller’s Sustainable Development Report 2016 provides an update on progress against its sustainable development ambition, Prosper, and highlights how this contributes to the SDGs.
SABMiller’s purpose is to bring refreshment and sociability, improve livelihoods and help build local communities. Prosper was launched in 2014 and broadened SABMiller’s focus beyond the direct impact of its own business to driving change across its value chain and beyond. It has already generated significant benefits for its business, value chain, communities, and the environment. Highlights include:
- To date, SABMiller has supported over 175,000 small businesses across its value chain to enhance their growth and livelihoods;
- Within its cost savings programmes, through water and energy related initiatives SABMiller saved US$116 million in the year compared with 2010;
- Nearly all of its breweries, accounting for 99.3% of our production volume, have now evaluated their exposure to water risk using a bespoke water risk assessment process; and
- SABMiller has more than 160 tailored local programmes around the world to reduce the harmful use of drinking.
Through Prosper and its five shared imperatives SABMiller wants to contribute to:
A thriving world where incomes and quality of life are growing:
- By 2020 SABMiller’s target is to directly support more than half a million small enterprises to enhance their business growth and family livelihoods.
- Through programmes such as 4e Path to Progress, run across six countries in Latin America, and Go Farming in Africa, SABMiller has helped over 175,000 retailers and farmers to thrive by facilitating access to skills, financial services and technology.
A sociable world where its beers are developed, marketed, sold and consumed responsibly:
- By 2020 SABMiller’s target is to aim to reach all of its beer consumers with effective communication campaigns, and partnerships to encourage moderate and responsible beer consumption.
- During the year SABMiller operated over 160 locally tailored programmes around the world to contribute to reducing the harmful consumption of alcohol, and made progress against a five-year global action plan with other leading beer, wine and spirits companies.
A resilient world where its business, communities and ecosystems share uninterrupted access to safe, clean water:
- By 2020 SABMiller’s target target is to secure the water supplies it shares with local communities through partnerships to tackle shared water risks.
- During the year 78 breweries, producing 99.3% of beer volume, completed intensive water risk assessments. The report provides some tangible examples of how water risk is impacting SABMiller’s business, and how it is working with partners to tackle these shared risks.
A clean world where nothing goes to waste and emissions are dramatically lower:
- By 2020 SABMiller’s target is to reduce the carbon footprint per hectolitre across its value chain by 25% (versus 2010); including a reduction by 50% within its breweries, by 25% across packaging and by 25% across its refrigeration carbon footprint.
- Since 2010 SABMiller has reduced its value chain carbon footprint by 19% to 54.8 kgCO2e/hl.
A productive world where land is used responsibly; food supply is secure; biodiversity protected and crops can be accessed at reasonable prices:
- By 2020 SABMiller’s target is to ensure the sourcing of our crops measurably improves both food security and resource productivity.
- In South Africa SABMiller has worked with farmers to halve the amount of water used to grow malting barley, while also improving productivity.
For more detailed information, SABMiller’s online SD report is at www.sabmiller.com/prosper. More detailed sustainable development performance data, including country-level performance, is available on its sustainability assessment matrix (SAM) tool at www.sabmiller.com/sam.
SABMiller plc is the world’s second largest brewing company and one of the world’s largest bottlers of Coca-Cola drinks. The company brews more than 200 local beer brands across 80 countries, employing around 70,000 people.
Please join the conversation at sabmiller.com/prosper or email.
