WHY COMPANIES NEED A 360° SUSTAINABILITY APPROACH

HOW SA COMPANIES CAN EVOLVE AND UTILISE GLOBAL BEST PRACTICE

By Millicent Maroga, Corporate Affairs Director, HEINEKEN South Africa

With another eventful year concluded, South African companies are presented with an opportunity to rewrite their corporate strategies and start the New Year with a clean slate, particularly when it comes to effectively delivering on their corporate sustainability agenda.

This is an opportune time for corporates to interrogate their sustainability approaches, identify where room for improvement lies, and establish whether their goals address societal and environmental problems at an advanced level. Global best practice remains a good benchmark for acing corporate citizenship to ensure that this is the case. Admittedly, this is not overlooking the reality that South Africa’s societal challenges are unique and need to be tackled accordingly.

It is not implausible to think that locally and abroad consumers share similar worldviews and traits. Consumers worldwide have very high expectations of corporate companies and brands and expect the highest levels of responsible business practice and sustainability to be at the heart of operations. Thus, a holistic sustainability approach that resembles global best practices and integrates international standards will improve corporates’ sustainability performance.

With that in mind, these key points can sum up a company’s sustainability agenda and yield great results for a business and its stakeholders:

Cater for society holistically or inclusively

More than ever, the communities affected by one’s business activities need to be at the core of decision making. Supporting the communities in which we operate has thankfully been in our HEINEKEN corporate DNA for several years. However, this should never be forgotten in our unequal society. Businesses must support communities that are directly and indirectly affected by their business operations. We are becoming more aware of how diverse our world is, and we cannot passively tout inclusivity and diversity without action. Consumers and employees need to feel that they are being spoken to and included, while differently-abled colleagues, women and individuals with different sexual orientations should feel seen.

Advocate for responsible product use or consumption

Most products, if not used or consumed in moderation, can lead to health issues. Globally, organisations have a responsibility to educate their consumers regarding their products’ safe and responsible use. Consumers have a right to know to what extent your product is good for their health and the environment. Marketing campaigns and labelling should address this and display appropriate product usage for maximum enjoyment and health.

Reduce your carbon footprint

Organisations concerned with their carbon footprint must evaluate how to reduce the impact of their actions and have goals and timelines in place to eliminate their carbon emissions through concerted efforts.

Make water protection a priority

Water is a scarce commodity. Protecting our water resources and saving water must be a priority, particularly in the manufacturing sector, where water consumption is significant.

A sustainability strategy is not a luxury. It is your organisation’s lifeline. At HEINEKEN, we recently refreshed our global sustainability programme, Brew a Better World. Our HEINEKEN growth strategy, EverGreen, is putting sustainability and responsibility front and centre as we write our next growth chapter. Our new 2030 commitments are woven into the fabric of our new balanced growth strategy, which takes into account the enormous societal and environmental challenges the world faces that require decisive and collective action.

A sustainability strategy is not a luxury. It is your organisation’s lifeline”