Circular Economy
AB InBev’s Environmental Efforts Generate $420 Million in Revenue

Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) announced it has met its three-year global environmental goals on water, energy, carbon emissions and recycling operations.The company reached its goal of reducing its water usage by nearly 20 percent, the equivalent of 25 billion cans of AB InBev products. Energy consumption decreased by 12 percent and carbon emissions were reduced by almost 16 percent in breweries and soft drink facilities worldwide. The company also increased its recycling rate to just over 99 percent for solid waste and by-products.

By Mike Hower | Published 11 years ago | About a 1 minute read

Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) announced it has met its three-year global environmental goals on water, energy, carbon emissions and recycling operations.

The company reached its goal of reducing its water usage by nearly 20 percent, the equivalent of 25 billion cans of AB InBev products. Energy consumption decreased by 12 percent and carbon emissions were reduced by almost 16 percent in breweries and soft drink facilities worldwide. The company also increased its recycling rate to just over 99 percent for solid waste and by-products.

The company says achieving its sustainability goals allowed the company to identify new revenue streams and generate savings — it has already generated $420 million in revenue from recycled materials alone, and water and energy efficiency improvements have saved $92 million.

Established in 2010 as part of AB InBev’s commitment to reduce its impact on the environment, the targets were achieved by applying a variety of operational changes, technological solutions, partnerships and employee engagement. The goals involved 130 breweries and soft drinks facilities in more than 20 countries.

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AB InBev developed a facilities management system, called Voyage Plant Optimization, to certify breweries and soft drink facilities that have passed rigorous standards for sustainability, operations, quality and safety outcomes. By the end of 2012, 95 percent of its facilities had received this certification.

Late last year AB InBev introduced a new lightweight bottle for Beck’s and Beck’s Blue in the UK that are nearly 11 percent lighter and are estimated to save a total of 2,642 tons of glass.

Mike Hower

Founder & Principal Consultant, Hower Impact

Mike Hower is the founder of Hower Impact — a boutique consultancy delivering best-in-class strategic communication advisory and support for corporate sustainability, ESG and climate tech.

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