Social
AB InBev‘s namesake foundation is in the process of launching a road safety pilot initiative in partnership with New York-based non-profit Together for Safer Roads (TSR) and Fleet Forum. The project will focus on integrating predictive data analytics into transport fleets’ safety operations, by analysing anonymised operational and crash data from Fleet Forum members, in order to identify risk patterns such as high-risk locations, timeframes and traffic conditions.
The data will contribute to the implementation of targeted, practical safety interventions, helping transport organisations to move from reactive incident response toward more proactive, risk-based safety management. AB InBev co-founded the TSR NGO in 2014, during the United Nations’s first ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety’, which ran from 2011 to 2020.
In Brazil, AB InBev‘s Ambev division was invited to discuss moderate drinking at São Paulo Innovation Week 2026, at a panel titled ‘Moderating is the new lifestyle: how São Paulo is using technology to transform the way we drink’. Company representatives highlighted the importance of moderation as part of a new social behaviour, and how the brewer has worked to make responsibility messaging more relatable so that it resonates better with consumers.
In Japan, Asahi re-opened its Sumadori low- & no-alcohol bar in Tokyo, as part of plans to expand its #SmartDrinking initiative further into Japanese society. The bar only offers no- & low-alcohol beverages, raising consumer awareness of the initiative among younger drinkers. The redesigned venue offers 180 possible drink combinations, created through a mixture of different cocktail bases, toppings and drinks with an ABV of 0%, 0.5%, and 3%.
Diageo updated its DRINKiQ global responsible drinking resource, which was originally launched in 2008 and is now available in 57 countries, across 80 sites and in 26 languages. As consumers’ attitudes to alcohol – and the way they access and interact with information online – have shifted in recent years, the brand owner has worked to evolve DRINKiQ to keep up with public expectations and needs. Diageo has developed the ‘DRINKiQ Drinks Calculator‘ to help consumers understand official consumption advice and what it means in terms of units, which also allows them to track their unit consumption in real time. The calculator, which is already available in the UK and US, is now rolling out in other markets.
Meanwhile in Italy, Diageo partnered with off-premise multiple Esselunga to launch a responsible drinking campaign, ‘If You Choose to Drink, Drink Responsibly’. Esselunga will promote DrinkIQ across its stores, with trained staff introducing customers to the campaign and the platform. “We are proud to collaborate with Esselunga on a project of great social value,” a company spokesperson said. “We believe that only through shared initiatives with major market players and institutions can we generate real and lasting change.”
Pernod Ricard’s SplitDrinks campaign, which debuted earlier this month, is the latest asset from the group’s flagship ‘Drink More Water’ responsible drinking initiative, which originally launched in 2021. The brand owner has designed split cocktail glasses for the campaign, one side for the cocktail and the other for water, highlighting the importance of pacing oneself and staying hydrated.
Environment
Asahi, Carlsberg, Diageo and Suntory Global Spirits are among 40 major food and beverage manufacturers to have signed a declaration of intent supporting SAI Platform’s new ‘Regenerating Together’ programme. The initiative will create greater alignment on regenerative farming practices across the global food and agriculture sectors, with a practical framework that was developed with input from farmers, agronomists, NGOs and academics.
Carlsberg’s Ringnes division in Norway has achieved a benchmark of phasing out around 600 tons of plastic from its product cycle over the last six years. Ringnes achieved the reduction through a series of steps, such as redesigning its bottle shapes to reduce weight, switching plastics suppliers and working with label designers to reduce plastic waste across every part of its production cycle. The unit is working towards a target of removing 1,000 tons of plastic from the product cycle, without substitutions.
In Tanzania, Diageo has delivered its latest community water project, which will provide clean water to 15,000 people in Karatu, Arusha. The ‘Baray Water Project’ is the third that the group’s Serengeti Breweries unit has completed in the country this year, and the 30th over the last decade. Diageo has also trained over 100 women nationwide through its ‘Women in WASH’ initiative, promoting economic inclusion and clean water by equipping them with skills in water management, entrepreneurship, financial literacy and leadership.
Heineken is leveraging major music and culture events to promote its ‘Brew a Better World’ sustainability strategy in Mexico. The group is using large-scale festivals in the country as platforms to generate positive impact, by demonstrating how its circular economy, zero-waste and resource efficiency initiatives can be integrated into user experiences.
Heineken is launching ‘Experiencia Sustentable’ at the 2026 Tecate Pa’l Norte festival, and will build on its reuse and recycle efforts in previous years by recovering significant volumes of recyclable waste and reusing tens of thousands of litres of water through new festival sanitation systems.
In Australia, Kirin’s XXXX beer brand has raised AUD10,000 (US$7,130) to support the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, through a partnership with the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys rugby league team. A total of AUD2 from every can of XXXX sold at the Cowboys’ home opener game this season was pledged to the foundation, to support research on strengthening the heat resistance of corals in the Great Barrier Reef.
Lotte Chilsung partnered with the Korea National Park Service (KNPS) in South Korea for a marine ecosystems conservation project, beginning with a clean-up operation on Geomundo Island. Company employees joined KNPS officials for beach cleaning and tidal rock restoration, collecting around 1 ton of marine debris such as discarded plastic bags and fishing nets. Lotte is also continuing its efforts to establish a circular plastic economy under a business agreement with KNPS and other national organisations, and recently donated 2,000 bottles of water to the service’s parks recycling scheme.
Lotte Chilsung is also on track to meet its ‘2030 Plastic Reduction Roadmap’ targets, having reduced its plastic emissions by 3,000 tons in 2025.
Suntory Global Spirits parent Suntory Holdings announced a AUD1m (US$713,000) partnership in Australia with Griffith University’s Australian Rivers Institute, to support research into the impact of climate change on water quantity and quality. The tie-up will bridge global ecohydrological science with local validation based on evidence such as data collected from Suntory’s recently-established water replenishment project in the Brisbane River region.
The findings will be applied to model water flows and support effective stewardship and long-term water sustainability, both locally and more broadly. “These systems are sentinels of what is happening in their catchments,” said ARI. “They are the ‘canary in the coal mine’, ringing the alarm bell for where human activities and climate change are causing the greatest stress on our ecosystems.”
Governance
In the UK, Asahi and Molson Coors Beverage Co participated in an annual fundraising event for the charity Only A Pavement Away, which supports people facing homelessness by highlighting employment opportunities in the hospitality sector. Teams from a range of alcohol and on-premise businesses competed in a 24-hour running and walking relay, raising over GBP6,000 (US$8,050) for the charity – and Asahi defended its 2025 victory to remain reigning champions.
Bacardi has launched the latest iteration of its global ‘Shake Your Future’ free bartender training programme, which offers young adults the skills necessary for a career in hospitality. The initiative arrives in Mexico this month, at a time when the rate of informal employment and unemployment among 20-to-29-year-olds reaches 44%.
To date, Bacardi has helped to train hundreds of young bartenders through the global programme, which also helps graduates to secure their first job behind the bar by identifying and facilitating career opportunities with industry partners.
Brown-Forman’s operations in China and India have been recognised with certification from Great Place To Work, the global authority on workplace culture. The award marks the third consecutive year of certification for Brown-Forman in China, and the sixth in India. The workplace governance NGO helps organisations quantify their culture and produce better business results by creating a high-trust work experience for all employees.
Kirin is continuing its partnership in Japan with the country’s Football Association (JFA) through a series of sports events to promote family bonding. Kirin and the JFA’s latest walking football event in Chiba will provide a chance for people of all ages to deepen their family and social connections through the shared enjoyment of football. The partnership’s ‘Walking Plaza’ project involves utilising everyday spaces where people can foster connections through football, and participants will be joined by players from the JFA.
Pernod Ricard announced a 69% decline in workplace accidents and a 64% fall in the frequency rate of accidents in the first two years since launching its company-wide ‘Be the One’ health & safety programme. As part of the activity, the Maison Martell unit in France implemented its own ‘Stop the Habit of Risk’ initiative, flagging and fixing over 200 health & safety situations in the workplace.
Finally, in the UK, William Grant & Sons published the 2025 annual review of its charitable foundation. The William Grant Foundation distributes a share of the company’s profits to good causes across Scotland, through grants and donations to a variety of charities linked to health and social causes, Scottish culture and heritage, the natural and built environment and youth opportunities.
The foundation also provides funding for donations through William Grant’s employee-led ‘Giving’ schemes, which support important causes across the globe.
