Environment Over the years the Company has taken a large number of
measures designed to reduce the burden on the environment.
Our breweries increasingly possess advanced waste water
treatment plants. Much attention is also paid to the most
efficient use of energy and raw materials and to the limitation
of the flow of waste and residual matter.
On January 1, 1995, the European Directive for packaging
and packaging waste came into effect. The Directive relates,
inter alia, to recycling and combustion - with energy recovery
- of packaging waste. The objectives of the Directive have to
be translated into national regulations in all the European
member states by June 30, 1996. Heineken is now already
complying with the new obligations.
All our breweries in Western Europe now possess established
environmental care systems and the programmes derived
therefrom for environmental management are being rapidly
introduced. This is also leading to a streamlining of the
existing activities in the field of environmental care, such as
energy saving and an economical use of water and raw
materials. Measurement and recording systems have been set
up in the breweries in order to obtain uniform environmental
impact reporting.
In 1995 a new waste water pre-treatment plant was taken into
operation at Zoeterwoude. The biogas produced by this plant
is used to heat the office building.
At 's-Hertogenbosch a container terminal was taken into use,
enabling the beer destined for export to be transported by
water to the port of Rotterdam; amongst other things, this
relieves the burden on the road network.
Within the framework of the 1993 energy covenant, brewers
in the Netherlands have undertaken to reduce their energy
consumption per unit of product by about 20% within ten
years. With the measures taken under the covenant
Heineken is ahead of schedule in dealing more economically
with energy.
The current study in connection with the reduction of
odour emissions at the breweries was continued during the
past year.
In order to give the outside world, too, a good insight into the
numerous measures and the results hitherto achieved,
Heineken Nederland published for the first time a public
annual environmental report.
At our maltworks in Belgium a water treatment plant was
installed during the year under review, as well as at our
brewery in Aosta, Italy. The new brewery in Bangkok,
Thailand, also has a treatment plant. In behalf of our Dutch
soft drinks company Vrumona, research is being done on a
new technique for waste water treatment.
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