AB-InBev’s “Better World” commitment

In addition to the water reduction scheme, the brewer has set the global environmental goal of achieving a 99 percent recycling and re-use rate by the end of 2012 – up from 97.2 percent in 2007 and 98 percent in 2009. It will also achieve a 10 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and energy use for every hl of production. Since 2007, the company has reduced energy use per hl by 10.9 percent, AB-InBev says.

In achieving its environmental goals, AB-InBev will extend the use of best practices already implemented in some of its breweries around the world:

AB-InBev’s work to lighten its impact on the environment is one of three core pillars of the company’s “Better World”, whose goals include commitments on promoting responsible drinking and giving back to the communities in which the company operates.

Workers at AB-InBev’s western European unit will read with interest that AB-InBev plans “to give back to the communities” while they quietly wonder how AB-InBev can tout its new-found philanthropic commitment as it sets out to shed 10 percent of its workforce.

Further, how serious does AB-InBev really take its corporate social responsibility if it has no qualms about awarding fat cat bonuses to its top executives? According to the Belgian magazine Trends, a small group of the brewer’s top executives will receive a bonus of 9.3 million share options should they succeed in bringing down the debt load following the takeover of Anheuser-Busch to 2.5 times EBITDA by the end of 2013 from currently 3.7 times EBITDA. These share options have a present value of EUR 245 million, Trends reports. A third of these options will be awarded to AB-InBev’s CEO alone.