Our main raw materials are barley and hops. We also use bittersweet cider apples for cider-making, mainly in the UK where we use approximately one-third of all British apples to make our ciders! Other raw materials include maize, rice, sorghum, sugar and apple juice concentrate. The barley we use for malting represents about 1.3% of all grain harvested globally. Grains (barley, wheat, corn) are grown in rotating harvest schedules. Other crops grown in the harvest schedules may include rapeseed, sunflower and others. HEINEKEN is one of the world’s top three users of malting barley. An increasing amount of our agricultural raw materials come from sustainable sources. We work with farmers and partners to improve crop yields and overall quality. We’re a member of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) -the only global food industry initiative for sustainable agriculture. It promotes the production of safe, high-quality agricultural products that are grown in a way that protects and improves the natural environment, the social and economic conditions of farmers, their employees and local communities. In Africa, where barley is often not available, we use local ingredients such as cassava and sorghum for our local beers. It creates shared value in many ways: reducing our transport impacts and costs; empowering local communities, and improving livelihoods, jobs and income.

We malt barley in our malteries and buy malt from third parties. Malting consumes energy and water, and requires transport. We’re constantly reducing our impacts through energy and water reduction programmes, and by working with our suppliers to reduce their impacts. Where possible, we switch from road to shipping for transporting barley and malt.

Because each of these processes consumes energy and water, we focus on increasing energy and water efficiency in our production processes and switching to more environmentally friendly energy sources. Each brewery, cider mill and soft drink production site has a specific target and we have an interactive, best-in-class IT system that allows us to share good practices between them.

Our products are packed in cans, bottles and kegs. We focus on improving the impact of our packaging by optimising the production of the packaging, changing the design and increasing the recycling and re-use rate. Switching to re-usable bottles is one of the best way to reduce our impacts.

We transport our products to customers using several modes of transport – from road and rail, to ocean freight and inland barges. Wherever we can, we change the form of transport to reduce our impacts, as well as training drivers, using more efficient engines, improving the design of vehicles, and re-assessing our distribution networks.

Most of our beers and ciders are consumed cold from fridges (beer in bottles, cans or smaller kegs) or draught equipment (for beer in kegs). We’ve defined green standards for new fridges purchased by HEINEKEN across all its brands. The standards are adjusted every year so we continue to progress towards our 2020 goals. We’re also developing greener draught equipment.

Our consumers play a major role in our sustainability journey through the responsible consumption of our brands. Advocating responsible consumption is a key part of Brewing a Better World and we have clear standards for responsible commercial communication, both on and offline. We actively engage with partners including other companies, NGOs and governments to reach people and increasing the effectiveness of our message. As an industry, we have a set of binding commitments aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm. We also offer consumer choice by providing low- and no-alcohol brands. Global consumer interest in this sector has been growing and, due to our rapid innovation, accounted for 5% of our global volume in 2015. Discover how we’re making responsible consumption aspirational through out brands. UN Sustainable Development Goals By Brewing a Better World, we’re helping to deliver the UN Sustainable Development Goals which aim to end global poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity. The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a global plan for action for people, planet and prosperity. With our global Brewing a Better World commitments, we’re helping to deliver many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Here’s how. Sustainable-Development-Goals Sustainable Development Goals Key v4