Value
chain
Overview
From Barley to Bar, we target
improvements throughout the value
chain. We also calculated our carbon
footprint for our value chain to better
understand the hotspots and identify
areas for improvement.
04 Heineken N.V.
Summary Sustainability Report 2012
Agriculture
Brewing
Packaging materials
Growing crops
Our main raw materials are
barley and hops. Out of all
the grains that are harvested
globally, barley for malting
represents about 1 A%.
HEINEKEN is one of the
world's top three users of
malting barley. We co-operate
with industry initiatives such
as the Sustainable
Agriculture Initiative (SAI)
to address all angles of
sustainable agriculture.
Malting barley
We malt barley in our own
malteries and in those of
third parties. In the process,
we consume energy and
water so we implement
active energy and water
reduction programmes
in our own malteries.
Brewing beer
The brewing process also
consumes energy and water.
Reducing energy consumption
means increasing energy
efficiency and switching
to alternative energy
sources. Water reduction
is mainly achieved by
optimising the brewing
process. Every brewery has
an improvement target.
Producing bottles, cans
and kegs
Beer is packed in cans,
bottles and kegs or sold as
cellar beer. Improving the
impact of packaging can
be achieved by optimising
the production process,
changing the design and
increasing the recycling and
reuse rate. For 27 Operating
Companies, we have identified
the packaging mix and
opportunities to improve.
