We’ve listened to industry feedback and refreshed our ESG Awards to drive the kind of cross-industry innovation that raises the bar for everyone, writes the chair of judges for Global Drinks Intel‘s ESG Awards, Rosie Davenport.
When we set out to redesign the Global Drinks Intel ESG Awards this year, the starting point was a simple question: do these awards reflect the beverage alcohol industry as it actually is now? The answer required some honest reflection.
Our industry operates at the sharp end of climate change. Harvests are being disrupted, water is becoming scarcer and agricultural supply chains are under the level of pressure that would have seemed extreme a decade ago.
At the same time, the levels of expectation set by consumers, investors and retail partners have risen sharply. ESG is no longer a reputational nice-to-have; it’s a commercial and operational imperative, and the scrutiny applied to it has intensified accordingly. Producers, retailers and brands are undertaking more sophisticated, more ambitious sustainability work than ever before, and they’re being asked to prove it in ways that weren’t expected of them even three or four years ago.
The 2027 programme is the most comprehensive version of the Global Drinks Intel ESG Awards to date. The changes we’ve made are substantive, driven by feedback from across the industry and by a clear ambition: to inspire more action, share ideas and drive the kind of cross-industry innovation that raises the bar for everyone.
A wider stage
For the first time, the awards span the full breadth of the drinks sector. Spirits, wine, beer, cider, RTD and seltzer and no- & low-alcohol each have their own producer categories, with a meaningful split between large companies and smaller independents.
For example, a craft cider producer that has been on its sustainability journey for 18 months is measured very differently from a multinational with a decade-long programme and a dedicated team. What the awards will be assessing is the quality and measurable impact of the commitment relative to where a company started and the credibility of where it is going.
Retailers and hospitality operators now have their own section of the awards entirely. This reflects a reality that the industry has been slow to acknowledge: the buying decisions made by major grocers, pub groups and global travel retail operators have as much influence on sustainability outcomes as anything happening in the distillery or vineyard.
What gets listed, what gets ranged, what packaging standards get set for suppliers – these are commercial levers with real environmental and social consequences, and they deserve proper recognition.
Going deeper on the environment
The 2027 Global Drinks Intel ESG Awards programme gives environmental action the space it deserves, with four distinct categories:
- Climate and carbon action
- Water stewardship
- Nature and biodiversity, and
- Waste and circular economy
Each category has its own clear criteria and will be assessed by judges with relevant expertise.
The drinks industry faces genuinely distinct environmental challenges across these areas, and the most compelling work deserves to be recognised on its own terms rather than in competition with initiatives addressing entirely different issues.
What we’re rewarding
The judging framework of the Global Drinks Intel ESG Awards has been rebuilt from the ground up to reflect what we believe genuine sustainability leadership actually requires.
Every entry is assessed across five equal areas:
- Strategy and governance
- Environmental performance
- Social impact
- Progress and trajectory, and
- Innovation and ambition
The framework is designed to recognise companies that take a truly holistic view of sustainability and can demonstrate progress across every dimension of ESG.
That includes the ‘S’, which is too often overlooked in drinks despite the industry’s deep dependencies on people, from vineyard workers and distillery communities to the consumers it serves.
An organisation that scores exceptionally on environmental performance but has little to say on social impact will find it difficult to be considered a true sustainability leader.
Social impact also has one of the most interesting categories in the initiative section this year, and I would particularly encourage entries from companies running employment programmes for people facing barriers to work, investing in the communities around their operations, or doing exceptional work with growers and agricultural supply chains.
This is where some of the most compelling, under-recognised work in drinks sustainability is happening.
An open invitation
One change worth highlighting specifically: brand owners, importers and distributors who do not own their production are explicitly welcome in the initiative categories.
These categories recognise specific programmes and actions, not overall company performance. If your organisation has achieved something exceptional in one area – for example, dramatically reduced water use, developed an innovative packaging solution or run an outstanding community programme – there is a category for it here, regardless of where you are on your broader sustainability journey.
You don’t need a comprehensive ESG programme to enter, just one genuinely trailblazing initiative.
Entries open now
The entry window opened earlier this month, and winners will be announced in December. Whether you are a large producer with a sophisticated programme, a smaller independent taking your first serious steps, a retailer using your commercial power to shift the needle or a brand doing something genuinely new, there’s a category for you.
The Global Drinks Intel ESG Awards exist to celebrate the companies and people making that happen, to shine a light on what good looks like, and to inspire others to go further. This is your opportunity to show the industry what genuine sustainability leadership looks like, and to inspire others to follow.
