Heineken Malaysia Bhd was a proud winner at the recent Sustainability & CSR Malaysia Awards 2021, taking up the Company of the Year (Manufacturing and Beverage) category for the fourth time since 2017. The award recognized the firm for its remarkable achievements in environmental sustainability, notably its water stewardship activities, as well as its assistance for its stakeholders during the COVID-19 epidemic.
“This win underscores our commitment to contributing to Malaysia’s recovery and sustainable growth,” stated Roland Bala, Managing Director of HEINEKEN Malaysia. As a responsible brewer, we are committed to creating a more sustainable future for our employees, customers, and the earth. During the difficult period of lockdowns, we channeled more than RM3 million to help our customers and communities in need.”
“The interruptions and limitations during the lockdown period had a significant impact on several of our on-trade businesses, including restaurants, coffee shops, food courts, bars, and pubs.” Throughout this difficult time, we reflected the ‘We are HEINEKEN’ mentality by reaching out to and supporting our business partners, consumers, and society. “We also used our existing network of alliances with local communities and non-governmental organizations to provide the required support to vulnerable families during the lockdowns,” Roland said.
HEINEKEN Malaysia began the HEINEKEN Cares initiative in July of this year, partnering with eight non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and social entrepreneurs to give meals to pandemic-affected areas. The Group has set an ambitious aim of giving 150,000 meals to communities affected by job or income loss during these difficult times by the end of December. More than 120,000 meals had been delivered to areas in need as of November 2021.
Throughout the epidemic, HEINEKEN Malaysia initiated a number of efforts to assist store owners and other business partners, including:
• Tiger Save Our Street Food: HEINEKEN Malaysia contributed RM1.5 million to help Malaysian street food vendors, coffee shops, and food courts around the country by covering rent for street food vendors, coffee shops, and food courts. • HEINEKEN Raise Our Bars: HEINEKEN Malaysia pledged RM1 million to assist bars and pubs in recovering from financial challenges following the lifting of the Movement Control Order (MCO). • Trade Partner Support: HEINEKEN Malaysia assisted trade partners to offer draught beer by delivery or takeout by providing recyclable PET bottles and cups to partner establishments, allowing them to continue serving draught beer throughout the lockdown season.
• Distributor Financing Help – Throughout the epidemic, HEINEKEN Malaysia supplied distributors with enough financing support to alleviate cash flow difficulties and maintain company continuity. • 7Cs Programme: To demonstrate the brand’s enthusiasm for quality and dedication to excellence, HEINEKEN Malaysia launched the 7Cs quality program for quality standards.
In terms of environmental sustainability, HEINEKEN Malaysia declared in early August this year that it has effectively balanced more than 100 percent of the water utilized in its goods by 2020. This demonstrates considerable progress made in accordance with the Group’s Every Drop water policy, with the brewer reaching this milestone ten years ahead of its 2030 Water Stewardship target.
Renuka Indrarajah, HEINEKEN Malaysia’s Corporate Affairs & Legal Director, commented on HEINEKEN Malaysia’s Water Stewardship achievements, saying, “Our objective is to balance 1.5 liters for every 1 liter of water used in manufacturing our goods.” We accomplished 267 percent of our water balance objective in 2020 through programs such as river and peatland protection, rainwater collection, reforestation, and other community projects. Water resource protection is a long-term commitment that has taken years of constant effort since 2007.”
Every Drop is a comprehensive approach developed by HEINEKEN to safeguard the health of watersheds. It is a three-pronged strategy that combines Water Stewardship to properly balance the water used in its goods, Water Efficiency to minimize water use in manufacturing, and Water Circularity to ensure 100% of wastewater is treated while maximizing chances to reuse and recycle water.
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