62. Chapter 5: Heineken in society Nonetheless, operating companies can learn from each other's activities and for this reason, in 2006 we are launching a project to provide easy internal access to information about the major corporate citizenship activities of our operating companies. When this system is operational, employees working in one of our operating companies in Asia will be able to find out what their colleagues in South America have done in similar circumstances, and possibly adopt the same tactics to suit their local needs. We believe that the introduction of this system will improve the effectiveness of our operating companies' corporate citizenship initiatives worldwide. In 2005, a total of €4.8 million (this equates to €91 per employee) was spent on community involvement programmes by our operating companies. This figure is down 9.5 per cent as compared to 2004. This can largely be explained by stricter interpretation of the definitions that we use. Thirty three per cent of our operating companies, reflecting 65 per cent of our workforce, have formalised procedures for the community to express complaints and grievances; 53 per cent have policies to manage environmental impact and 24 per cent to manage social impact. Of our operating companies, 14 per cent indicate that they have initiatives that benefit the community and contribute to the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals; 12 per cent of our operating companies have 'access to water' initiatives for the local community. Base of the pyramid In April 2005, the Dutch consultancy firm Triple Value Strategy Consultants organised a number of sessions with one of the founders of the so-called 'Base of the pyramid thinking', professor Stuart Hart. Heineken was a proud sponsor of these sessions, together with ABN AMRO Bank and chemical company DSM. The Base of the pyramid strategy is aimed at doing business in such a way that it yields profit for the company, while providing products and stimulating economic activity in consumer groups with very low spending power. We chaired a breakfast session with Dutch executives and the Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation. A group of around fifteen young professionals participated in workshops. The enthusiasm within this group was such that a number of follow-up sessions took place. In these sessions, we assessed what activities Heineken can deploy in the design of its own Base of the pyramid strategy. We are currently in the process of drawing our final conclusions, which will be submitted to the Presidents of the regions concerned and consequently to the Executive Committee and the Executive Board. Four billion people at the 'base of the pyramid' represent a source of significant business growth Purchasing power parity in dollars Population (mln) Growth Source: C.K. Prahalad and Stuart Hart "The fortune at the Bottom of the pyramid" Strategy+Business, January 2002 BOP: Serving the world's poor profitably Base of the pyramid: the great leap downward Source: Stuart Hart and Clay Christensen, 2002 "The great leap: Driving innovation from the base of the pyramid" Heineken N.V. - 2004/2005 Sustainability Report

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Heineken - Milieuverslag | 2004 | | pagina 64