Beer is part of a balanced, healthy lifestyle
and has been for thousands of years.
That is why we are rightly proud to have
enjoyment as one of our core Heineken
company values. However, society is also
confronted with the negative aspects
of alcohol when it is abused or misused
by a minority of consumers. Therefore,
as one of the world's leading brewers,
we - along with all other stakeholders -
have a responsibility to play our part in
reducing alcohol-related harm.
We do this differently in different markets.
Our underlying objective though is always
to provide consumers with the knowledge
to make informed choices with regard to
consuming alcohol. In addition, we also
take the time to continually educate our
own employees via our internal Cool@Work
programme. Through our Code on
Responsible Commercial Communication,
we ensure that our advertising
and promotion does not stimulate
inappropriate consumption.
In 2008, we strengthened our already strong reputation in
this area through a Company-wide programme of actions
built around five key pillars:
Extend the Enjoy Heineken Responsibly campaign
Upweight actions on our key portfolio brands
Increase partnerships at a local level
Continued investment in coordinated industry action
Continually educate our own employees.
What we did and what we delivered
General
In March 2008, we published a new edition of our Rules
on Responsible Commercial Communication and distributed
it to all our operating companies and export markets.
The new rules can be found on our corporate website
www.heinekeninternational.com in the Corporate
responsibility section under Policies (Alcohol).
We revised our online training tool for marketing and
sales personnel as well as those new to the business.
The tool is available online throughout the year for
training new employees.
The responsible consumption programme was the focus
of both a presentation and a working session during our
leadership forum for the top 130 managers in Bucharest
ri'n March 2008.
RESPONSIBLE BEER
CONSUMPTION
