Company Partners with United Nations Environment Programme to Reduce Water Use and Promote Watershed Protection
Published 06-02-11
Submitted by AB InBev
Anheuser-Busch InBev (Euronext: ABI) (NYSE: BUD) is celebrating World Environment Day (WED), an initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), across its global operations. The company's annual WED celebration, now in its third year, is a key rallying point in its commitment to reduce its impact on the environment, a core pillar of its dream to be the Best Beer Company in a Better World.
In support of UNEP's global World Environment Day themes, AB InBev is emphasizing its efficient use of resources - in particular water, which is essential to its high quality products and the continued, sustainable growth of its business around the world. World Environment Day will launch AB InBev's third annual WED facility competition, which encourages the company's 114,000 employees globally to design and participate in projects that focus on water conservation and watershed protection. For the first time, the judging panel that will select the competition's global grand prize winner will include a representative from UNEP.
"Over the past three years, World Environment Day has become an important global rally point in our year-round commitment to lighten our impact on the environment," said Carlos Brito, CEO of Anheuser-Busch InBev. "The activities our colleagues will participate in - both through projects inside our brewery walls and through partnerships in our communities - remind us of the positive impact that we can have in reducing our draw on natural resources when we focus our energy and creativity."
Employees at AB InBev's facilities around the world are driving local initiatives to celebrate World Environment Day.
Last year, AB InBev's World Environment Day facility celebration yielded more than 550 environmental and volunteerism employee-generated projects in 21 countries, with more than 300 projects focused on water conservation. Many of the best practices put into place as part of WED are helping to create a lasting impact on the company’s ability to become increasingly water efficient and has led to measurable progress toward reducing its global water usage. For example, the winner of last year's competition, the St. Louis brewery in the U.S., helped to save more than 10.5 million hectoliters of water, resulting in 3.7 million USD in savings for the company.
In March 2011, AB InBev announced progress toward achieving a leading-edge water usage rate for its plants of 3.5 hectoliters of water for each hectoliter of production by the end of 2012, a commitment unveiled last year as part of the company's global Better World goals. The company has also set ambitious environmental goals around reducing energy use, reducing carbon emissions, and increasing its recycle and reuse rates by the end of 2012. AB InBev's work to lighten its impact on the environment is one of three core pillars of the company's Better World plan. The company's global goals also include commitments on promoting responsible drinking and giving back to the communities in which it operates.
About Anheuser-Busch InBev
Anheuser-Busch InBev is a publicly traded company (Euronext: ABI) based in Leuven, Belgium, with an American Depositary Receipt secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BUD). It is the leading global brewer and one of the world's top five consumer products companies. A true consumer-centric, sales driven organization, AB InBev manages a portfolio of well over 200 beer brands that includes global flagship brands Budweiser®, Stella Artois® and Beck’s®, fast growing multi-country brands like Leffe® and Hoegaarden®, and strong "local champions" such as Bud Light®, Skol®, Brahma®, Quilmes®, Michelob®, Harbin®, Sedrin®, Klinskoye®, Sibirskaya Korona®, Chernigivske®, and Jupiler®, among others. In addition, the company owns a 50 percent equity interest in the operating subsidiary of Grupo Modelo, Mexico's leading brewer and owner of the global Corona® brand. AB InBev's dedication to heritage and quality is rooted in brewing traditions that originate from the Den Hoorn brewery in Leuven, Belgium, dating back to 1366 and the pioneering spirit of the Anheuser & Co brewery, which traces its origins back to 1852 in St. Louis, USA. Geographically diversified with a balanced exposure to developed and developing markets, AB InBev leverages the collective strengths of its approximately 114 000 employees based in operations in 23 countries across the world. The company strives to be the Best Beer Company in a Better World. In 2010, AB InBev realized 36.3 billion US dollar revenue. For more information, please visit: www.ab-inbev.com.
About Better World
Through our commitment to be the Best Beer Company in a Better World, Anheuser-Busch InBev is the industry leader in social responsibility initiatives, ranking as the No. 1 beverage company in social responsibility in FORTUNE Magazine's "World’s Most Admired" beverage companies' list. Our Better World efforts focus on three pillars: promoting responsible drinking; protecting the environment; and giving back to the communities in which we live and work. Around the world, we develop and implement social responsibility programs and campaigns in partnership with parents, government officials, community organizations, retailers and others. From promoting responsible drinking messages on some of the world's most watched television programming, to turning coconut husks into renewable energy to fuel our breweries, to volunteering in the community, Anheuser-Busch InBev and its employees are committed to making a difference.
For more information about Anheuser-Busch InBev and Better World, please visit: www.ab-inbev.com.
Anheuser-Busch InBev is a publicly traded company (Euronext: ABI) based in Leuven, Belgium, with an American Depository Receipt secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BUD). It is the leading global brewer and one of the world's top five consumer products companies.
Beer, the original social network, has been bringing people together for thousands of years and our portfolio of well over 200 beer brands continues to forge strong connections with consumers. We invest the majority of our brand-building resources on our Focus Brands - those with the greatest growth potential such as global brands Budweiser®, Stella Artois® and Beck’s®, alongside Leffe®, Hoegaarden®, Bud Light®, Skol®, Brahma®, Antarctica®, Quilmes®, Michelob Ultra®, Harbin®, Sedrin®, Klinskoye®, Sibirskaya Korona®, Chernigivske®, Hasseröder® and Jupiler®. In addition, the company owns a 50 percent equity interest in the operating subsidiary of Grupo Modelo, Mexico's leading brewer and owner of the global Corona® brand. AB InBev’s dedication to heritage and quality originates from the Den Hoorn brewery in Leuven, Belgium dating back to 1366 and the pioneering spirit of the Anheuser & Co brewery, with origins in St. Louis, USA since 1852. Geographically diversified with a balanced exposure to developed and developing markets, AB InBev leverages the collective strengths of its approximately 116,000 employees based in 23 countries worldwide. In 2011, AB InBev realized 39.0 billion USD revenue. The company strives to be the Best Beer Company in a Better World. For more information, please visit: www.ab-inbev.com.
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