Company Substantially Reduces Average Water Use Per Unit of Production in 2010
Published 03-14-11
Submitted by AB InBev
Anheuser-Busch InBev (Euronext: ABI) (NYSE: BUD) today announced its progress toward achieving a set of aggressive three-year global environmental goals as part of its Better World commitment. Core among these goals, which the company unveiled last March, is a leading-edge water-usage target for AB InBev's plants of 3.5 hectoliters of water for each hectoliter of production by the end of 2012. In 2010, the company's average water use was 4.04 hectoliters per hectoliter of production, which represents a reduction of 6 percent year over year and a savings equivalent to more than 16,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools when compared to the company's 2007 water use ratio.1 This puts the company on track to reach the savings it committed to achieving by the end of 2012.
"Announcing our global goals last year was an important milestone for Anheuser-Busch InBev. Setting these aggressive, measurable targets brought our Better World strategy to life and has united our colleagues around the world in pursuit of a common purpose," said Carlos Brito, CEO of Anheuser-Busch InBev. "The collective efforts of our 114,000 people over the past year has sparked innovation and created the focus required to achieve our ambitious global environmental goals by 2012. This work will carry forward through 2011 as we continue to drive sustainability each day in support of our dream to be the Best Beer Company in a Better World."
Anheuser-Busch InBev steadily reduced its global water usage rate over the past year by employing a mix of engineering improvements, operational innovations and strong awareness and behavior-driven actions to optimize efficiency in every plant. The company's unique system-wide process - Voyager Plant Optimization (VPO) - drives efficiency at plants through uniform processes and measurable standards for operations, quality, safety and the environment. Anheuser-Busch InBev also tapped into the ingenuity of our talented workforce by celebrating World Environment Day (WED), an initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), across our operations on June 4, 2010. As part of WED, AB InBev employees developed and executed 567 environmental and volunteerism projects in 21 countries, implementing numerous best practices across our global operations to help conserve natural resources.
Several facilities in the company's key geographies are driving company-wide progress:
In addition to making progress toward achieving its rigorous water goal, the company attained a 3.7 percent decrease in energy use compared to 2009 on a per hectoliter basis (megajoules per hectoliter), marking steady movement toward its goal of reducing energy use by 10 percent compared to 2009 levels by the end of 2012. Anheuser-Busch InBev is also well on its way to achieving the ambitious global environmental goals of reducing its carbon emissions per hectoliter of production by 10 percent by the end of 2012 and of reaching a 99 percent recycle rate by eliminating material losses, improving packaging efficiencies and determining cost-effective alternative uses for raw materials and byproducts.
Anheuser-Busch 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 the company 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 beer industry leader in social responsibility initiatives, ranking as the No. 1 brewer 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.
1The number of Olympic-size swimming pools is derived as follows: Total amount of water needed in 2007 to produce the company's latest verified volume of production (409 million hl x 5.03 hl of production) less total amount of water needed in 2010 to produce the same volume of product (409 million hl X 4.04) equals 404,910,000 hl divided by the number of hl in an Olympic-size swimming pool (25,000 hl), for a total of 16,000 Olympic swimming pools.
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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