To say that water is vital to beverage companies would be a drastic understatement. Water is not only an essential ingredient in their products, but it’s also used as a primary resource in their production processes.
But diminishing water resources is a rising global challenge—and many beverage companies have recognized the vital role they play in addressing it. Below, we highlight some examples of global beverage companies and associations that have taken action to address water risks and achieve better water stewardship with the help of Antea Group and our global partners. In addition, we honor those who are working across company lines to further global water stewardship efforts.
Companies Taking Action
Company 1: Assessing and Addressing Water Risks
One of the world’s largest multinational beer, wine and spirits companies—and one that’s regarded as a leader in sustainability—wanted to assess localized water stress conditions throughout its global operations and use that information to improve its corporate water stewardship.
The Work: Antea Group designed an assessment strategy that encompassed three work streams: raw operational data from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Water Tool, internal water stress surveys for individual sites, and a comprehensive water stress survey.
The Water Win: After collecting and analyzing the qualitative and quantitative data, we were able to provide the company with a graphical depiction of high, medium and low risk areas, as well as an overall prioritization of sites. The company was able to use this information to establish water commitments to mitigate risks and create a more robust water stewardship strategy.
Company 2: Creating a Comprehensive Water Strategy
A global brewing company wanted to develop a comprehensive water strategy that would help them become an industry leader in water stewardship, as well as establish meaningful business value.
The Work: Antea Group assessed the company’s current water program, conducted internal stakeholder interviews, reviewed external benchmarking performance, and completed an opportunity analysis relative to The CEO Water Mandate. We then analyzed the data and compiled it into a summary of finding and opportunities.
The Water Win: The information collected was used to craft a vision statement and water strategy that would help the company meet internal expectations, align with The CEO Water Mandate, and drive a competitive advantage and help ensure the long-term viability of their water strategy.
Company 3: Ensuring Water Stewardship through EHS Training
A North American beverage company wanted to create a customized eLearning module to educate their plant environmental managers on how to manage wastewater and bolster water stewardship efforts. The training needed to be tailored to U.S. and Canadian regulatory requirements.
The Work: Antea Group partnered with our Canadian Inogen partner to review the respective regulatory requirements of the United States and Canada. After the review was complete, Antea Group engaged an eLearning developer to transform existing presentations into three interactive modules.
The Water Win: After delivering the learning files, the beverage company was able to upload all materials to their management system and train their employees anytime, anywhere. This not only allowed the company to focus more on day-to-day business activities, but also ensure their environmental team had the information and tools to drive performance and water stewardship.
Company 4: Developing Sustainability Best Practices for Craft Brewers
The Brewers Association, a nonprofit membership organization with more than 50,000 individual and 1,400 organization members, wanted to develop and launch an association-wide sustainability initiative. The goal was to provide members with manuals and online resources for enhancing sustainability in three key areas: Water/Wastewater, Energy/GHG, and Solid Waste.
The Work: Recognizing the diversity of the craft brewing industry—and the need to make these resources practical and actionable—Antea Group gathered extensive feedback and best practices materials from members through online surveys, in-person sessions and individual interviews. The wealth of information collected was then used to build strategic and resource-packed manuals for each of the three focus areas.
The Water Win: With resources in-hand, members throughout North America were armed with energy saving measures, responsible water and resource management, waste stream reduction strategies, and facility upgrade ideas.
Learn more about Antea Group’s water stewardship consulting services.
Beverage Companies Working Together
While many beverage companies are working hard to improve their own commitments to water stewardship, some are also working together to make a bigger difference.
Sustainability leaders from nearly two dozen beverage companies—including recognizable brands such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Molson Coors—are working together to further water stewardship efforts through the Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER).
From benchmarking to developing solutions for evaluating water risks and opportunities, BIER members are pushing water stewardship initiatives beyond their company walls to enhance their businesses, communities and the world.
For more beverage industry news and insights on water stewardship and sustainability, check out the Food and Beverage section on our blog.
