Social
AB InBev partnered with media outlet Editora Globo in Brazil earlier this month to host a seminar exploring the role of collaboration between public authorities, private businesses and civil society in driving countries’ socioeconomic growth. The country’s Minister of Social Development, Wellington Dias, was among the government, business, academic and civil society leaders to participate in the seminar, discussing the capacity of public-private collaboration in creating solutions to the country’s social problems.
The first panel, ‘Impact of Partnerships in Promoting Responsible Consumption’, highlighted the positive effect of collaboration in preventing harmful drinking. Participants focused on Georgetown University’s recent case study evaluation of AB InBev’s ten-year Global Smart Drinking Goals programme, which the brewer launched to support WHO’s target of reducing harmful drinking by 10% by 2025.
AB InBev also held a panel, ‘The New Cool: Moderation in a World of Excess‘, at the South by Southwest 2026 festival in Texas. Joined by behavioural scientist Jon Levy and representatives from Georgetown University’s business school, global director Catalina Garcia discussed the link between moderation and social connection, and how social norms marketing can help people to focus on balanced lifestyles and view moderation as a positive behaviour.
In Uganda, Diageo’s Uganda Breweries subsidiary signed a partnership with the Red Cross to drive meaningful change in road safety and responsible drinking. With support from the National Police and other stakeholders, the tie-up will use nationwide prevention campaigns such as ‘Wrong Side of the Road’ and ‘Eyo Red Card’ to curb risky-drinking and drink-driving, with a focus on high-risk and underserved communities.
Heineken entered into a new agreement in Laos with the Ministry of Public Security’s Traffic Police Department to promote responsible drinking and road safety to address a rising level of dangerous driving in the country. Heineken and the police will be working with universities, youth networks and district partners to deliver lessons on responsible drinking and road safety through safety awareness-raising sessions, community workshops and campaigns. The arrangement will also feature work with social media influencers and digital storytellers to extend the campaign’s reach to help young people understand the risks of drink-driving.
In the UK, Pernod Ricard partnered its Jameson Irish whiskey brand with Drinkaware and the English Football League (EFL) for the brand’s second annual ‘Know Your Score’ responsible drinking campaign. The latest activation, featuring former EFL manager Alan Curbishley, uses football culture and humour to encourage fans to check their drinking habits and have more open, honest conversations about alcohol. During last year’s campaign, Drinkaware’s ‘Drinking Check’ was completed more than 9,000 times in the first day alone.
Suntory Global Spirits announced that its DrinkSmart website is now available in a number of languages, including German, Japanese and Spanish. The group relaunched its long-running educational platform in mid-2025. DrinkSmart was designed to promote responsible drinking and offers guidance on how to make smart decisions about alcohol.
Environment
Carlsberg is entering the third phase of its strategic water conservation partnership with WWF, which began in 2018. The approach is based on results from the WWF’s Water Risk Filter online tool, which enables companies to explore, assess and respond to water risks in their production and supply chain. Between 2026 and 2028, the partners will focus on projects in Asia, including restoring degraded wetlands in Nepal, a new wetland restoration project in China’s Yellow River basin and continuing existing projects in Laos.
Diageo marked World Water Day on 22 March by publishing the next step in its climate strategy. The ‘Climate Transition Plan’ sets out how the company is preparing for the transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient future through a holistic approach that includes expanding renewable energy use, improving energy efficiency and rethinking how its products are made, packaged and transported. Diageo has also stressed the importance of collaboration in mitigating the effects of climate change and will be working with suppliers, farmers, customers and partners across its value chain to help drive meaningful climate progress.
(Click on the image below to view Diageo’s ‘Climate Transition Plan’.)
Moët Hennessy participated in the ChangeNOW 2026 summit in France to discuss the upcoming third edition of its World Living Soils Forum in June. The brand owner created the forum in 2022, to accelerate and scale up regenerative practices worldwide by bringing together scientists, farmers, institutions, NGOs, start-ups, investors and companies to share knowledge, innovations, solutions and best practices.
At the ChangeNOW summit, chief sustainability officer Sandrine Sommer participated in two panels to discuss long-term opportunities for sustainable transformation and collaboration to safeguard living soils. The event presented Moët Hennessy with an opportunity ahead of the World Living Soils Forum to convene its advisory board members and partners, which now include Pernod Ricard.
In the UK, Molson Coors Beverage Co has installed a new heat pump system at its Burton Brewery as part of a major project to improve energy efficiency at the flagship British site. The new pump is expected to reduce the company’s overall direct carbon emissions by around 40%. Around GBP8.5m of the GBP18m (US$24.4m) project cost is supported by the Government’s Industrial Energy Transformation Fund. Minister for Investment Lord Stockwood said: “The UK is a world leader in renewables, so I’m delighted that Molson Coors is leading the way by investing millions to help reduce emissions and supporting our aim to become a clean energy superpower.”
Governance
In Australia, Kirin’s Lion division was recognised with an ‘Employer of Choice for Gender Equality’ citation by the country’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency. This marks the ninth time that Lion has been awarded the citation, reflecting its commitment to fostering gender equality and the meaningful improvements it continues to work towards for its staff.
Meanwhile, Suntory Global Spirits earned recognition through several awards from Great Place To Work. The global authority on workplace culture included Suntory on its ‘Top Employers for 2026’ lists in Canada, China and Chinese Taipei, in recognition of its commitment to fostering an inclusive culture and supporting the growth and advancement of its staff.
The company’s parent, Suntory Holdings, recently held its annual ‘Suntory Philosophy Month’, a month of stories, reflection, connection and action across its global divisions. The theme for this year’s activity was ‘What Makes Life Brilliant?’, with staff around the world participating in discussions, events and charity work.
