At the heart of our commitment to our stakeholders is our commitment to increase the sustainability of what we do. Our aspiration is to deliver sustainable, superior results as the end result of our business practices.
We have defined seven areas on which we believe we should focus our energy in order to maximise benefits for society, our stakeholders and our company. These benefits justify that we go beyond minimal, legal requirements in order to help shape our future business environment. The seven areas we identified, are:
- Energy: consumption and CO2 emission
- Water: our consumption and waste-water discharge
- Safety: of our employees and our installations
- Agriculture: the quality and availability of raw materials
- Supply chain responsibility
- Responsible beer consumption
- Impact on developing markets.
In our Sustainability Report we publish the results of our efforts in these areas.
In the context of our Corporate Responsibility (CR) programme and in addition to the seven areas, we also look into issues that are subject to legal or para-legal requirements. The Guidelines for Multi-National Enterprises as produced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is our reference document in this respect.
Within our company these Guidelines are translated into the Heineken principles - taking into account our three core values: respect, enjoyment and passion for quality. The Heineken principles are developed and applied through specific policies and the implementation of relevant CR programmes. Current policies derived from our values and principles include, but are not limited to, the Alcohol Policy, the Safety, Health and Environment Policy, the Code of Business Conduct, the Whistle Blowing Procedure and the Supplier Code.
Achievements of Heineken are consistent with our commitments to continuous improvement and indeed, our overall performance has improved. The progress made during the past year has been reported in the Heineken Sustainability Report, published on 3 April 2008. For the full report please read the Heineken N.V. 2007 Sustainability Report.
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