The EcoVadis platform allows HEINEKEN to monitor risks within the supplier base spanning more than a 100 countries, and at the same time to identify innovative sustainability practices of suppliers. The EcoVadis platform will allow HEINEKEN buyers all over the world access to easy to use, reliable sustainability ratings. These ratings cover 21 environmental and social criteria, and measure compliance with the key elements of HEINEKEN's Supplier Code.

At the end of 2005, HEINEKEN adopted its first Supplier Code dedicated to supply chain responsibility aiming at sourcing products and services in a responsible manner by requiring suppliers to operate in accordance with the principles set out in HEINEKEN's Supplier Code.

In 2011, HEINEKEN decided to reinforce this policy through a collaborative platform allowing the evaluation and improvement of environmental and social performance of its key suppliers and selected the EcoVadis platform for this purpose. HEINEKEN and EcoVadis also collaborated to develop specific questionnaires and scoring models covering specific malt, hops and grains categories. After a successful pilot program covering 150 strategic suppliers in 2011, the EcoVadis solution is now being rolled out on a global basis.

"The development and rigorous implementation of Sustainable Procurement policies is a key element of HEINEKEN's Brewing a Better Future agenda. HEINEKEN has a strong preference to only do business with organisations that share our values of Respect for the Planet and ethical Business Principles. Our buyers' discussions with suppliers have included environmental and social issues since 2005, but after recently benchmarking against other companies' standards we chose to raise the bar, increasing our expectations and updating our Supplier Code. Acknowledging that driving our CSR standards into and through our supply chain is both about assuring current performance as well as driving improvement, we invested time in finding a CSR performance measurement platform that could meet all our requirements," declared David Spacey, Global Procurement Director at HEINEKEN.

"After extensive review of alternatives we have chosen to utilise the EcoVadis platform which offers an excellent combination of self-assessment, 360 degree supporting evidence evaluation and inter-industry competitor benchmarking. The ease of access and usability for both our large supplier base and our global procurement community was also a key factor," Spacey continued. "We did not want to deploy a generic assessment but also address the specific lifecycle challenges of each of our core spend categories, and the EcoVadis platform is a great solution to support this initiative with our suppliers but also with our global procurement community."

EcoVadis Managing Director and co-founder Pierre-Francois Thaler adds: "We are very happy to collaborate with HEINEKEN, which is the first brewer to have engaged in such an advanced Sustainable Supply Chain programme, going beyond the traditional Social Compliance approaches. Through this collaborative platform, HEINEKEN and EcoVadis also wish to give the possibility to other big FMCG companies to participate in order to improve the environmental and social conditions of supply chains."

About HEINEKEN

HEINEKEN is a proud, independent global brewer committed to surprise and excite consumers with its brands and products everywhere.

The brand that bears the founder's family name - HEINEKEN is available in almost every country on the globe and is the world's most valuable international premium beer brand. The Company's aim is to be a leading brewer in each of the markets in which it operates and to have the world's most valuable brand portfolio. HEINEKEN wants to win in all markets with HEINEKEN and with a full brand portfolio in markets of choice.

The Company is present in over 70 countries and operates more than 140 breweries with volume of 214 million hectolitres of group beer sold. HEINEKEN is Europe's largest brewer and the world's third largest by volume. HEINEKEN is committed to the responsible marketing and consumption of its more than 200 international premium, regional, local and specialty beers and ciders. These include Amstel, Birra Moretti, Cruzcampo, Desperados, Dos Equis, Foster's, HEINEKEN, Newcastle Brown Ale, Ochota, Primus, Sagres, Sol, Star, Strongbow, Tecate and Zywiec.

Our leading joint venture brands include Cristal, Kingfisher, Tiger and Anchor. In 2011, revenue totaled €17.1 billion and EBIT (beia) was €2.7 billion. The number of people employed is around 70,000. HEINEKEN N.V. and HEINEKEN Holding N.V. shares are listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange. Prices for the ordinary shares may be accessed on Bloomberg under the symbols HEIA NA and HEIO NA and on the Reuter Equities 2000 Service under HEIN.AS and HEIO.AS. Most recent information is available on www.theHEINEKENcompany.com.

About EcoVadis

EcoVadis operates the 1st SaaS collaborative platform helping major companies assess their suppliers' environmental and social performance. EcoVadis combines an information system and a network of CSR analysts in order to provide buyers with simple and reliable information covering 150 purchasing categories, 150 countries, and 21 indicators (ranging from CO2 emissions to child labour. EcoVadis solutions can help businesses reduce risks and improve their suppliers' performance. 50 major international groups use EcoVadis to assess their suppliers' CSR performance. In a study, UNEP/Global Compact mentioned that "Businesses should use databases like EcoVadis...for they collect and distribute data about suppliers and they provide buyers with an integrated supplier assessment tool focused on Sustainable Development indicators." www.ecovadis.com

EcoVadis

EcoVadis

EcoVadis is the world's most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings. Global supply chains, financial institutions and public organizations rely on EcoVadis to monitor and improve the sustainability performance of their business and trading partners. Backed by a powerful technology platform, EcoVadis’ evidence-based ratings are validated by a global team of experts, and are adapted to more than 200 industry categories, 160 countries, and companies of all sizes. Its actionable scorecards provide benchmarks, insights, and a guided improvement journey for environmental, social and ethical practices. Industry leaders such as Amazon, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oréal, Unilever, LVMH, Salesforce, Bridgestone, BASF, and ING Group are among the 85,000 businesses that collaborate with EcoVadis to drive resilience, sustainable growth and positive impact worldwide. learn more on ecovadis.com, Twitter or LinkedIn.

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