Marketing and Comms
Global Beer, Wine, Spirits Producers Launch Online Resource to Promote Responsible Drinking

The International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to addressing the global public health issue of harmful drinking, today launched ResponsibleDrinking.org. The consumer-friendly website provides easily accessible information about key issues related to drinking and will be promoted on the packaging of alcoholic beverages of the dozen signatory brands — including Bacardi, Diageo, Heineken, Molson Coors and more.

ResponsibleDrinking.org is an informative repository of leading thought from academia, international health organizations, government, scientific research and the medical field. IARD has translated this science into clear, easy-to-understand language to help consumers make more informed choices and be a helpful health destination for information on issues related to safe, legal and responsible drinking decisions. Consumers can find information about different forms of beverage alcohol, the immediate and long-term health effects of drinking, and examples of when drinking is risky and why some people should choose not to drink.

"IARD believes everyone should make safe, legal and responsible decisions about drinking or not drinking, and that people make better choices based on a solid understanding of the facts,” said Ann Keeling, President and CEO of IARD. “As a global public health NGO, we support the implementation of the global target set by the world’s government of ‘at least 10 percent relative reduction in the harmful use of alcohol by 2020.”

In 2012, the Beer, Wine and Spirits Producers’ Commitments to Reduce Harmful Drinking were signed by CEOs of leading global producers to build on their long-standing efforts to reduce harmful drinking. In support of those Commitments, of which IARD is the secretariat, the new website provides clear, easily understood information to help consumers drink responsibly if they choose to drink.

“At IARD, Member Companies from all sectors of the alcohol industry — beer, wine, and spirits — come together with the common purpose of being part of the solution to harmful use of alcohol. We are determined to strengthen and expand our long-standing efforts to combat harmful drinking in the markets we serve.” said Rick Wilson, IARD Chairman and SVP of External Affairs & Corporate Responsibility at Bacardi-Martini, Inc. “This website contributes to one of the five key areas in our Commitments. Providing consumer information on our products and packaging is something we are dedicated to continuously deliver.

As part of the Commitment to greater consumer education, IARD member companies will promote the new website, link to it from their own landing pages, or link to equivalent sites they have developed independently. By 2017, all signatory companies will add the URL or a URL to a comparable site of their own to their alcohol beverage packaging. The site will be monitored regularly, and will be translated into multiple languages to help ensure its content is accessible to consumers around the world.

The Signatories to the Commitments are:

• Anheuser-Busch InBev
• Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd.
• Bacardi Limited
• Beam Suntory
• Brown-Forman Corporation
• Carlsberg
• Diageo
• Heineken
• Kirin Holdings Company, Limited
• Molson Coors
• Pernod Ricard
• SABMiller

Many of the signatories have launched their own efforts at providing their consumers with the resources necessary to make informed decisions about alcohol use. In September, on its fifth annual Global Be(er) Responsible Day (GBRD), AB InBev released the results of its first international survey consumer attitudes toward the responsible serving and selling of alcoholic beverages, which provided new data to highlight the importance of ongoing training and the opportunity to expand these efforts; and in December, Brown-Forman partnered with designated driver service BeMyDD to offer holiday revelers a $20 discount on their first reservation.