It is common now for leading global companies to set challenging time-bound sustainability goals as part of their overall business strategy. Stakeholders expect detailed reporting on progress – and even setbacks.
As companies continue to set the bar higher, meeting ever more ambitious targets requires more than good intentions and operational fixes. Embedding sustainability holistically depends on creating a high performance culture that motivates employees to be focused, engaged and creative for the long-term.
Create a global focus
Generating results with strong employee engagement begins by having a shared vision and prioritising clear goals.
As the world's leading brewer, water is critical to our ability to make high-quality products and to grow our business. Anheuser-Busch InBev's plan for water conservation and watershed protection is central to our vision to be the Best Beer Company in a Better World. Reducing our environmental impact is one of three core focus areas, along with promoting responsible drinking and contributing to the communities in which we operate.
Last year, we announced an industry-leading global water usage target that is shared by all our facilities, regardless of location or regulatory structures. Achieving the target of 3.5 hectoliters of water for each hectoliter of production by the end of 2012 will represent 30% reduction per unit of production in the company's water usage globally since 2007. This is the equivalent of saving 25,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water.
While our local breweries face very different challenges in reaching this target, each has the same clear direction. Employees' individual and collective performance is tied, in some way, to reaching this target.
Measure, share, innovate
Goals are reached with planning, persistence and creativity. Regular reporting and environmental key performance indicators (KPIs) are fully integrated into our global management system, called Voyager Plant Optimisation (VPO). This framework is designed to bring efficiency to our brewery operations and generate cost savings, while at the same time improving quality and ensuring safety. Our VPO system guides all our water management practices and requires regular self-assessments and audits to ensure consistency and high standards.
Water savings are being achieved by a combination of low-tech and high-tech solutions. Whether it's changing the diameter of a spray nozzle or creating a partnership to drive awareness, it is employees' continual involvement, at all levels, that ensures these fixes create savings and flag opportunities on an ongoing basis. By incentivising a culture of information sharing among our zones, good ideas can spread and take root quickly across a global organisation.
Rally globally
As progress is being made in markets, it's important to build in moments to come together as a global organization to take stock, share ideas and build enthusiasm. One way Anheuser-Busch InBev has done this is by marking key global dates and using the opportunity to build momentum for furthering progress.
Again this year, our breweries around the world will celebrate the United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) World Environment Day (WED) through a variety of internal activities and work with partners in communities. Our 2010 WED internal competition generated more than 550 employee led facility and community-focused environmental projects (over half contributed to water conservation and watershed protection).
Many of the best practices put into place as part of WED have been shared globally and are spurring operational and behavioural changes. Beyond sharing knowledge about what works, these global rally points help to unleash tremendous creativity and commitment of employees focused on proving that reaching even the most ambitious environmental goals is possible.
Jo Van Biesbroeck is zone president western Europe, Anheuser-Busch InBev.
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