The Knowledge Share Project. Reporting Practices GRI Organizational Stakeholders share their reporting experiences

Transcription

1 Reporting Practices GRI Organizational Stakeholders share their reporting experiences The Knowledge Share Project

2 REPORTING PRACTICES introduction Welcome to the Organizational Stakeholder (OS) Knowledge Share Project Throughout 2012, the Knowledge Share Project will capture challenges, successes and practical experience of sustainability issues, from some of the most experienced sustainability reporters in the OS Program. Read more on GRI Vision A sustainable global economy where organizations manage their economic, environmental, social and governance performance and impacts responsibly and report transparently. GRI Mission To make sustainability reporting standard practice by providing guidance and support to organizations. DEVELOPED BY Special thanks to: Ron Bohlmeijer, Specialist Water, HEINEKEN Supply Chain Jan-Willem Vosmeer, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, HEINEKEN International Mark Bakker, scribbledesign.nl Photos, HEINEKEN Cover photo: istockphoto.com copyright This document is copyright-protected by Stichting Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The reproduction and distribution of this document for information and/or use in preparing a sustainability report is permitted without prior permission from GRI. However neither this document nor any extract from it may be reproduced, stored, translated, or transferred in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopies, recorded, or otherwise) for any other purpose without prior written permission from GRI. GRI s OS Program unites hundreds of organizations that are committed to the transparent reporting of their sustainability performance. Many of the OS that support and endorse GRI and its mission are sustainability reporters, with concrete sustainability projects in place. GRI s Guidelines are under continuous development to stay up to date and relevant, and reporting practices around the world are developing with the guidance. Companies responses to sustainability challenges also change, and OS can learn from each other s projects and experiences. For many OS, the insights gained from years of reporting play an ever greater role in shaping organizational strategy, decision making and operations. Decision making and practical responses to sustainability challenges are showcased in the Knowledge Share project in Topics covered in this year s webinars and chapters include social inclusion, supply chain management, waste reduction, climate change, and biodiversity. Each topic will feature an OS-exclusive webinar and a chapter to be shared exclusively on the OS private pages of the GRI website. At the end of the year, the whole project will be published for the wider GRI network, just like the 2011 Knowledge Share Project Portfolio. The OS Knowledge Share Project is more than a sharing of expertise it is also a thank you and a celebration. Many OS have taken a leadership position in addressing their sustainability impacts and encouraging others to do the same. They have helped progress reporting from an experimental venture to a potentially mainstream business and management tool. The Knowledge Share Project celebrates the energy that OS have devoted to sustainability reporting, and the forging of a brighter economic future. Eszter Vitorino Network Relations Manager Global Reporting Initiative, the Global Reporting initiative logo, Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, and GRI are trademarks of the Global Reporting Initiative GRI 2 Organizational Stakeholder Knowledge Share Project gri Reporting Practices 2012

3 Water Saving water, serving sustainability HEINEKEN s Brewing a Better Future agenda was born of stakeholder discussions, and captures the company s long-term integrated approach to creating value for all stakeholders. Brewing a Better Future is based on three strategic imperatives: 1. To continuously improve the environmental impact of Heineken brands and business 2. To empower people and the communities in which it is operated 3. To positively impact the role of beer in society. Given the water-intensive nature of Heineken s activity, and its considerable focus on sustainability, the company has much experience to share on reacting to the challenges of water usage. Heineken has been active in the field of sustainability for some time. Can you tell us more about your ambitions and future plans? HEINEKEN s ambition is to become the world s greenest brewery. In order to achieve that we have developed an ambitious sustainability roadmap for the company, reflecting HEINEKEN s long-term objectives, called Brewing a Better Future (BABF). BABF was introduced in April 2010 and born out of close discussion with our stakeholders. The program is governed by an Executive-level Steering Committee that meets each quarter. On a day-to-day basis, BABF is governed by a team of representatives from the Supply Chain, Commerce, HR, Control & Accounting and Corporate Relations functions. We have created 23 programme areas that by 2020 will bring our words Brewing a Better Future to life with our people and our stakeholders to cover our material impacts as well as our value-based approach to people and society. At HEINEKEN we are working hard to increase the energy and water efficiency of our breweries, offices and warehouses. In 2011 we made good progress and are on target to achieve the goals we set for Why is the issue of water and water scarcity so important to Heineken? Water is the most important ingredient of our products and essential for our operations. An estimated 90% of our water footprint is related to the cultivation of crops. At the same time water is critical for the wellbeing of the communities and ecosystems HEINEKEN operates in. The problem is that water, the once plentiful resource, is growing scarcer. The demand for fresh water has doubled over the past 50 years. Water scarcity already affects 4 out of every 10 people. Global demand for water is expected to increase by another 40% by Water scarcity will result in increased competition for water among industry, the general population, agriculture and ecosystems. For HEINEKEN this means it has the potential to disrupt business and supply chain operations, lead to increased costs, and increase the price of our commodities and so our products. Can you tell us more about HEINEKEN s water-saving practices, and the three pillars of your water stewardship strategy? As a signatory of the United Nations CEO Water Mandate, we recognize that we have a responsibility to promote responsible 3 Organizational Stakeholder Knowledge Share Project gri Reporting Practices 2012

4 water use throughout our operations, and encourage our suppliers to do the same. We have therefore invested time, energy and money in order to better understand the various aspects of our relationship with water in order to develop a comprehensive water strategy. In an increasingly water constrained world it is critical that we become as efficient as possible, whilst working with communities to protect water resources. This is reflected in our Water Stewardship strategy: managing a resource that we do not own. This strategy is based on 3 pillars - 1. We want to substantially reduce the amount of water used for production but also in the rest of our supply chain; 2. We mitigate water-related risks with Source Water Protection Planning; 3. We compensate for the water that is not returned to the local water cycle; we call this redress the balance between water taken and water returned. How do you assess where and when in your supply chain water resources are impacted most? HEINEKEN is aware that it needs a more detailed understanding about how waterrelated risk manifests itself and how risk can be addressed in different watersheds where our supply chain operates. This is particularly important in water-scarce or water-distressed river basins. In this framework we have undertaken four extensive water footprint studies over the last two years to determine the sources and amounts of water used in all products and goods required to produce beer, from barley to bar. Findings show that 90% of our water footprint is related to the cultivation of crops. This indicates that measures to reduce the water footprint should focus especially on agriculture. Can you tell us what Heineken s strategy is to address this issue? Responsible water usage is one of the elements of sustainable sourcing. In 2010 we joined the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform (SAI). The SAI is a food industry organization of 37 multinational companies working towards a more sustainable food chain. The SAI has developed both principles and practices for more sustainable agriculture in the fruit and arable sectors. For water usage this means, for instance: Understanding local water issues Having a water management plan for the farm properly manage and optimize water use, like appropriate irrigation, runoff protection, good disposal, regulatory compliance, etc. This will be addressed with our tier 1-suppliers. Taking action towards farmers is a bit more complicated as we do not know who they are or how many. We will expect, over time, all our suppliers to discuss with their supply chains which are also ours the adoption of SAI Principles & Practices, or local equivalents. Heineken operates globally with over 140 breweries in 71 countries. Do regional conditions play a role in Heineken s Water Stewardship strategy and is there a different strategy per region? All HEINEKEN sites have been the subject of a water risk analysis. This analysis was a rough screening focused on identifying red flag conditions, and resulted in a list with priority 1-sites, priority 2 sites and priority 3-sites. The assessment identified 19 priority 1-sites that must get priority in our water resource considerations. These sites are in Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia, Mexico and Spain. Regional conditions do not play a role in our Water Stewardship strategy, but We have undertaken four extensive water footprint studies over the last two years to determine the sources and amounts of water used in all products and goods required to produce beer, from barley to bar. The Featured OS Heineken began as a family brewer in Since then, Heineken has grown into one of the most famous international breweries, with sales in 178 countries, operations in over 70 countries, and an internationally-diverse workforce of around 70,000 employees. Heineken became GRI Organizational Stakeholders in 2004, and has been active in the sustainability field for some time. In 2010, the company implemented a more integrated, comprehensive sustainability agenda called Brewing a Better Future. The agenda provides Heineken with a road map to follow, and reflects its long-term ambition to become the world s greenest brewer. In this chapter of the OS Knowledge Share, Ron Bohlmeijer, Specialist Water at Heineken Supply Chain, and Jan-Willem Vosmeer, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at Heineken International, discuss Heineken s water-saving practices. 4 Organizational Stakeholder Knowledge Share Project gri Reporting Practices 2012

5 Brewing a Better Future By 2020 the global average water usage to produce a liter of beer should not exceed 3,7 l/l; a 25% reduction compared to 2008 every Source Water Protection Program will be unique and tailor-made to meet the requirements for the local situation. Can you tell us more about Source Water Protection Program for priority 1-sites, and give some practical examples of successes? The Source Water Protection process consists of 3 inseparable elements: 1. the selected Production Unit will establish a Water Sustainability Team (WS-Team). This team will be trained in the basics of watershed management and hydrogeology. 2. a Source Vulnerability Assessment (SVA) will be executed by an external consultant. 3. a Source Water Protection Plan will be drawn up by the WS-Team and approved by the management team. The process starts with an Introductory Workshop. In this workshop the WS-Team will be introduced to some general concepts around watershed management, stakeholder engagement and hydrogeology. After the workshop the WS-team will start studying the e-learning modules, while the consultant will work on the SVA. When both the SVA has been realized and the e-learning has been completed, the team and the consultant will gather again in a final workshop. In this workshop the team will draft the actual Source Water Plan, guided and facilitated by the consultant. How does Heineken use its sustainability report to communicate its water-saving practices? In all our operations we are working hard to increase water efficiency. In our sustainability report we publish the progress we make on reducing our water consumption. By 2020 the global average water usage to produce a liter of beer should not exceed 3,7 l/l; a 25 % reduction compared to 2008 when the global average was 5,1 l/l. In 2011 we made good progress and we are convinced that we are on target to achieve the goals we have set. In 2011 specific water usage decreased from 4,5 l/l to 4,3 l/l. The best in class are already far ahead of our 2020 target and operate with less than 3 l/l. Links To read more about Heineken s sustainability activities, visit: For more information on GRI s organizational Stakeholder program, visit: 5 Organizational Stakeholder Knowledge Share Project gri Reporting Practices 2012

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