Brewing sustainability into the business model
Founded in 1864, Heineken has grown from a family-owned brewery in Amsterdam to the world’s second-largest beer producer, with operations in over 70 countries. Today, the Dutch multinational is reshaping its legacy for a climate-conscious future, anchoring sustainability not as a standalone agenda, but as a fundamental part of its commercial strategy.
Under its flagship Brew a Better World initiative, first launched in 2021, Heineken is advancing towards an ambitious goal: to become a net-zero carbon business across its entire value chain by 2040. The company has reaffirmed this ambition even as others roll back climate targets, sharpening its environmental focus while evolving its social priorities.
Sustainability simplified, but strengthened
In 2024, Heineken updated its Brew a Better World strategy to reflect what it describes as a “simplification” of certain social ambitions, not as a retreat, but a refocusing on areas of greatest impact. The company is now concentrating its efforts across three integrated pillars: environmental impact, responsible business, and positive social impact.
Key highlights include:
- Retiring a third of the original goals and introducing a new goal to support 300,000 people across the value chain by 2030, including smallholder farmers, brewery-adjacent communities, and hospitality workers.
- Advancing gender equity by aiming for 40 percent female representation in senior leadership by 2030, up from 30 percent currently.
- Strengthening water stewardship targets, particularly in water-stressed areas, a key operational risk for the brewing industry.
This shift towards focused, high-leverage action reflects a strategic realignment: fewer goals, greater depth, clearer accountability.
Environmental ambition with operational discipline
Heineken’s environmental strategy remains bold, science-aligned, and hierarchy-driven, prioritising reduction, replacement, removal, and reporting.
To meet its 2040 net-zero target, Heineken has committed to:
- Sourcing 100 percent renewable electricity for operations
- Reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 90 percent by 2030 (baseline: 2022)
- Reducing Scope 3 emissions by 25 percent by 2030, covering key upstream and downstream categories
- Cutting land use emissions (FLAG) by 30.3 percent, supporting nature-positive transitions in agriculture
Heineken has also raised its water efficiency ambition, now targeting global water use of 2.6 hectolitres per hectolitre (hl/hl) of product, and 2.4 hl/hl in water-stressed regions – a crucial move for operational resilience.
Key enablers driving progress
Heineken’s sustainability progress is powered by a set of integrated enablers that align strategy, value chain collaboration, and data-driven decision-making.
Integrated strategy delivery
Sustainability is no longer a separate function at Heineken; it is embedded into core operations, procurement, governance, and leadership development. Cross-functional collaboration is a central tenet, helping break down silos and link environmental performance with business value.
Value chain engagement
With Scope 3 emissions covering everything from raw materials and logistics to product end-of-life, the company is investing in partnerships that promote climate-smart agriculture, circular packaging, and supplier decarbonisation.
Digitalisation and transparency
Enhanced reporting frameworks and traceability tools are helping the company monitor progress against SBTi-aligned goals, communicate transparently, and meet evolving stakeholder expectations.
Kingspan’s strategy is anchored by tangible action across its business:
- Carbon-neutral manufacturing: Several of Kingspan’s global manufacturing sites have achieved carbon neutrality by combining energy efficiency improvements, renewable sourcing, and verified offsets.
- Circular innovation: The company recycles PET bottles into insulation products, turning post-consumer waste into high-performance materials. This not only reduces virgin plastic use but also contributes to a circular economy model.
- Rainwater harvesting at scale: Kingspan facilities across Europe and beyond now harvest and reuse rainwater, significantly reducing reliance on municipal water and enhancing resilience during periods of water stress.
- Green finance integration: Kingspan has linked its sustainability targets to capital-raising strategies, including green bonds that fund Planet Passionate investments. This enhances transparency for ESG investors and supports scalable impact.
Strategic benefits beyond compliance
Heineken’s sustainability journey is already yielding tangible outcomes:
- Greater operational efficiency through reduced energy and water use
- Improved reputation and brand value in both mature and emerging markets
- Increased resilience in the face of climate-related risks, including resource scarcity and supply chain disruption
- Enhanced attractiveness to ESG-focused investors, customers, and talent
Crucially, the company has maintained momentum despite global uncertainty, reinforcing that climate leadership is not only possible, but profitable.
What we can learn from Heineken
For businesses operating in emissions- and resource-intensive sectors, Heineken’s strategy offers important lessons:
- Prioritise material impact over breadth – focus efforts where your business can move the needle.
- Link sustainability to commercial outcomes – from brand trust to cost reduction.
- Be ambitious but structured – define clear targets, establish interim milestones, and measure progress.
- Don’t wait for regulation – align now with future-fit standards like the SBTi net-zero framework.
- Make sustainability part of your core business – not a reporting requirement.
Looking ahead
Heineken’s next sustainability chapter will likely hinge on accelerating Scope 3 reductions, driving circular packaging innovations, and deepening community impact. With climate science, social equity, and business resilience at the centre, the company is well-positioned to navigate both risk and opportunity in the decade ahead. For organisations seeking to embed sustainability across their operations and value chains, Heineken’s experience underscores a powerful truth: credible action, grounded in strategy and backed by investment, delivers value that lasts.
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