World of Heineken 38 - summer 2008
Athenian Brewery:
real impact on economy
Triple Value Strategy Consultants completed a comprehensive
assessment of the impact that Athenian Brewery has on the Greek
economy in March this year. The study revealed that Heineken's local
operation plays a significant role in supporting the economy.
Athenian Brewery adds a total value of 1,492 million to the Greek
economy. The total amount of taxes paid as a result of Athenian
Brewery's activities adds up to almost half a billion euros, which is
more than one per cent of all taxes levied by the Greek government.
"The study clearly quantifies the contribution of our company to our
country and frankly, we were surprised ourselves by the magnitude,"
says Joanna Trifilli, Finance Director of Athenian Brewery.
in terms of production and the number of people on its payroll, this
paints only half the picture.
The method employed by Triple Value Strategy Consultants also
measures the indirect and indexed effects of Heineken's activities,
thus depicting the full extent of their impact.
Mark van Rijn, Heineken's Manager Company and Society, has
been involved in a number of impact assessments worldwide. "The
assessment provides us with a better understanding of our effects on
the total value chain. We want to maximise the positive effects from
our operations. The assessment provides us better insight into how
we can achieve this from an economic perspective," Mark says.
Before the Greek assessment, the research technique had been
limited to emerging markets, where Heineken activities can be
particularly crucial to the local economy. The Greek study showed
that even in mature economies, Heineken plays an important role in
the country. "The study helps our stakeholders to better understand
what it is that a private sector company does and what its effects are.
This improved understanding contributes to quality of the dialogue
that we conduct with these stakeholders," says Joanna Trifilli.
As a company firmly committed to social responsibility, Heineken's elli_panaqiotopoulou@heineken.com
interest in the economy of the countries in which it operates extends
beyond the utilitarian. The impact assessment is a tool that Heineken
has developed to obtain a deeper understanding of the impact it has
on local markets.Impact assessments are very broad in scope. While
conventional economic measures express a company's societal value
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