2001 in Retrospect are France and the Netherlands. Although international speciality beers still account for only a small proportion of Heineken's total volume, they have growth potential and help to improve the sales mix and are being added to the range in a growing number of markets, alongside local speciality beers. Research and development Research and development, as the foundation of quality control and the source of innovation, have strategic importance for Heineken. Some R&D work is performed locally, but is coordinated from the Netherlands. Research projects in 2001 focused primarily on raw materials, production efficiency, quality control and packaging development. The production efficiency improvement programme, based on research carried out centrally in 2000, has already helped the breweries to achieve significant pro ductivity gains. The improvement in productivity comp ared with 2000 averaged 12% overall, and even in Western Europe, where productivity is already relatively high, an improvement of over 9% was recorded. These gains were achieved mainly by concentrating production at fewer plants and reducing staffing levels through more efficient manpower planning and organic growth in output. The laboratory-scale brewery and malt-house, which are used in the development of brewing and malting processes and play a key role in our ongoing research into improving the quality of both raw materials and end-prod ucts, were replaced in 2001. Heineken also uses the experi mental results to develop improved strains of barley, in cooperation with malt suppliers and barley growers. A start was made in 2001 on the introduction of a new system of sensor-based quality control in our breweries, which will enable us to reduce still further the chance of variances from the desired quality. A special test facility entered service in 2001 which is being used in the development of new packaging concepts to rigorously investigate the effects of new materials on product quality. Heineken's research and development effort has also resulted in advances in sustainable membrane filtration technology. This new technology offers greatly reduced environmental impact compared with the beer filtration method currently in use, which employs non-recyclable kieselguhr. Sustainable membrane filtration technology is now ready for use in the brewery. Environment, health and safety Many more initiatives relating to water-saving, which is a key element in Heineken's environmental policy, were launched in 2001. A central health and safety policy was formulated to assist in defining and applying standards and procedures at all sites. Now that all the operating companies in which Heineken holds a majority interest are using the same reporting sys tem, we are able for the first time to publish a global envi ronmental report for 2001 (our previous environmental reports covered only the European breweries). The 2001 report, which will be published in the second half of 2002, will also deal with the activities and achievements of our European breweries in the area of health and safety. Environment As well as being beer's principal constituent, water plays an important part in many stages of the production process. Heineken's water-saving policy has now been introduced in all operating companies in which we have a majority interest. Significant savings were again achieved by many of Heineken's breweries, malt-houses and soft- drink plants, mainly through encouraging responsible water use, training, advanced metering technology and selective recycling. An average water saving of around 6% was achieved. Other projects were undertaken in 2001 to save electrical and thermal energy and reduce emissions, the results of which will be published in our environmental, health and safety report. A start was made on installing waste-water treatment plants at all our breweries in Africa. The treatment plants, which operate on the anaerobic principle, are energy- efficient, space-efficient and generate little waste. A train ing module was developed for Africa and the Caribbean region on ways of reducing waste-water production. Health and safety Heineken complies with local statutory requirements and rules in the field of health and safety. Where these do not exist or are deficient, Heineken sees it as its responsibility to develop and apply its own standards on behalf of employees and other interested parties, including consumers, suppliers and people living close to our brew eries. A central policy was drawn up in 2001 for the formulation and application of central and local standards and procedures. Information and awareness are essential to prevent employees being exposed to unsafe and HEINEKEN N.V. ANNUAL REPORT 2001 18

Jaarverslagen en Personeelsbladen Heineken

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