Energy Efficiency, GHG Emissions, Industrial  -  February 20, 2019

Heineken reports progress on Dropping the C

Heineken reported a 47% decrease in carbon emissions from production since 2008, putting the company even further ahead of its 2020 commitment of 40%, which was initially reached last year.

The result was part of the company’s combined financial and sustainability report, released on Feb. 20. “To develop successful brands that people trust, we aim to make a positive contribution to the environment, local communities and wider society,” the report noted. “In 2018, we made steady progress towards reaching our 2020 Brewing a Better World targets. We also began to look beyond 2020 and started shaping our sustainable development strategy for 2030.”

The company reported progress on lowering emissions from refrigeration. With a goal to reduce emissions by 50% (vs. 2010) by 2020, Heineken purchased almost 100% green refrigerators in 2018, hitting its target. One area labeled “more to do” in terms of progress was in reducing emissions from distribution in Europe and the Americas. With a reduction target of 20%, the company has reached 13% as of 2018 with 27% in the Americas and 12% in Europe including Russia.

In 2018, Heineken launched its CO2 reduction strategy for 2030, “Drop the C,” which focuses on energy efficiency, electricity and thermal renewable energy generation in production, distribution, packaging, and cooling. The program has a goal to power 70% of production with renewable energy by 2030. As part of the program, the report noted, "We have started a number of projects to drive us towards these targets looking into biomass and biogas, wind and solar energy."