Heineken Raises the Bar on Water Sustainability in Asia

As Part of Its Sustainability Strategy 'Brewing a Better Future', Beverage Giant Heineken Has Implemented Several Water-saving Initiatives

Few beer drinkers may know this, but a pint of the humble brew takes far more than a pint of water to produce. In fact, breweries may take between three to six litres of water to make a litre of beer- and that is not even counting the water used to grow barley and hops, says astudy released earlier this yearby industry body Beverage Industry Environmental (BIE)Roundtable.

In an effort to cut back on its water consumption, brewery giant Heineken - which produces iconic local and global beers like Tiger, Heineken and Bintang - began putting in place water management measures such as wastewater treatment and water-efficient technology across its Asia-Pacific sites as far back as 1993, at a brewery in Ho Chi MinhCity.

Going a step further, the Dutch brewer has been giving back to the community with water stewardshipprojects in Indonesia, which it hopes will helpensure water supply for years to come andimprove the sustainability of its breweries.

In recognition of its sustainability efforts in Asia Pacific, Heineken received the Water Management award at the Sustainable Business Awards Singapore 2014, in a ceremony held in November at Marina BaySands.

The inaugural Singapore awards by global advisory firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers and events firm Global Initiatives aim to recognise firms that integrate sustainable practices into their long-term strategy. Other winners included Unilever Asia, which won for supply chain management, and Singapore property developer City Developments Limited, which won for its environmental disclosure, amongothers.

Heineken Asia Pacific senior regional supply chain director Henricus van Dort tells Eco-Business in a recent interview that the firm aims to get its water use down to 3.7 litres per litre of beer from the current 4 litres by 2017, earlier than an original 2020target.

The industry average has been reported to be between five and seven litres, while the BIE Roundtable benchmarking survey respondents used an average of 3.8litres.

"If we have to rate, water is a top priority," says van Dort. By comparing all 165 or so of its breweries around the globe, Heineken can tell which measures have the most impact, and what the best-performing breweries cando.

For instance, it realised that tanks need to be washed for just 45 seconds rather than hosed down for two entire minutes, more than halving the water needed. And by changing the nozzles on its bottle-washing machines, it saves half the water and gets bottles just as clean, headds.

He also notes that some of Heineken's locations have become water-stressed after breweries were established many years ago. In these instances, the company has gone beyond its own operations to help manage the community's watersupply.

Its Bintang brand, for example, established two breweries: one at Tangerang in Indonesia about 40 years ago, and one at Sampang Agung in 1997 to replace a brewery built in Surabaya in1929. Today, however, the development of greater Jakarta means both areas are nowwater-scarce.

Source: Eco-Business

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• Business Development
• Sustainability
• Water Management