Anheuser-busch inbev publishes 2012 global citizenship report
Brussels--(business wire)--anheuser-busch inbev (euronext: abi; nyse: bud) today reported progress against its better world commitments in its 2012 global citizenship report: conversation, action, results. the report highlights country-level initiatives and key metrics in relation to responsible drinking, the environment, communities and people. it also describes how ab inbev’s breweries and soft drink facilities across 23 countries are scaling best practices globally and how the company engages with stakeholders to foster collective action in areas such as water risk management. “becoming the best beer company in a better world is an ambitious dream. but it is one we believe is worth pursuing,” said carlos brito, ceo of anheuser-busch inbev. “it starts with a culture that fosters the right conversations with the right stakeholders, both inside and outside our company.” highlights from the report include: achievement of three-year global environmental goals on water, energy, carbon emissions and recycling, that the company set in 2010. this includes reducing water use by 18.6 percent (to a leading-edge rate of 3.5 hectoliters of water per hectoliter of production), decreasing carbon emissions by 15.7 percent and increasing the company’s recycling rate from 98.2 percent to 99.2 percent for solid waste and byproducts. first-year progress against global responsible drinking goals, including reaching more than 270 million consumers to increase awareness of the importance of using a designated driver (2011 data). the company’s third annual global be(er) responsible day, held on september 21, 2012 and involving nearly 25,000 colleagues and more than 500 partner organizations around the world in activities promoting responsible drinking and responsible serving. supporting implementation of the world health organization’s (who) global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol, which includes working with industry peers and stakeholders on the global actions commitments to address key issues such as reducing underage drinking and strengthening and expanding marketing codes of practice. encouraged and expanded community engagement with a global volunteer policy that guides and tracks employees’ volunteer efforts. in 2012, more than 21,000 employees volunteered their time to support a variety of community activities around the world – an increase of more than 12 percent over 2011 employee volunteer efforts. engaged and supported employees, providing more than 1.4 million hours of training to approximately 47,000 employees across the company – an average of about 32 hours per employee – through the efforts of anheuser-busch inbev university. programs like these led to the company achieving an employee engagement index of 77.4 percent – an increase of 1.4 percent over the previous year. the engagement index is based on the results of an opinion survey of more than 80,000 employees worldwide conducted in december 2012. the report also features country-level highlights, as well as initiatives that are leading practice at ab inbev, including: world environment day lean & green certification later this year, ab inbev will announce a new set of challenging global environmental goals, pending a thorough review of the initial three-year cycle and consultation with stakeholders, as well as 2012 progress on its global responsible drinking goals. the company consults the global reporting initiative’s (gri) sustainability reporting guidelines and is self-reporting at level b. anheuser-busch inbev was also recognized by fortune magazine on their 2013 list of “world’s most admired companies”. the company was ranked no. 1 overall among beverage companies, and was also the no. 1 ranked alcohol company in social responsibility, in the beverage industry. learn more about ab inbev’s sustainability initiatives and better world work at http://www.ab-inbev.com/go/social_responsibility.cfm, on facebook and on twitter. about anheuser-busch inbev anheuser-busch inbev is a publicly traded company (euronext: abi) based in leuven, belgium, with american depositary receipts on the new york stock exchange (nyse: bud). it is the leading global brewer, one of the world’s top five consumer products companies and recognized as first in the beverage industry on fortune magazine’s “world’s most admired” companies list. 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. anheuser-busch 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, anheuser busch inbev leverages the collective strengths of its approximately 118,000 employees based in 23 countries worldwide. in 2012, ab inbev realized 39.8 billion us dollar revenue. the company strives to be the best beer company in a better world. 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 on fortune magazine’s “world’s most admired” 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.
