Heineken eyes lower CO2 levels, more renewables by 2030

Dutch brewing giant Heineken NV (AMS:HEIA) has committed to lift the share of renewable thermal energy and electricity it uses in production to 70% by 2030 from 14% presently amid a new initiative for cutting carbon dioxide (CO2) levels.

The so-called “Drop the C” programme, unveiled on Monday, excludes the purchase of unbundled renewable energy certificates but rather bets on using clean sources of energy directly. In order to "drive real change towards renewable energy," the company also intends in the next two years to set new emission targets for its distribution and cooling and packaging operations, from which a significant portion of its carbon footprint comes from.

The Dutch brewer has lowered the CO2 emissions of its manufacturing plants by 41% since 2008 and last year managed to achieve its 2020 emissions goal in production, where 70% of its power comes from thermal power generation. Nevertheless, “packaging is an area where reductions will be harder to achieve,” said Jean-Francois van Boxmeer, CEO and chairman of the company’s executive board.

Heineken has already joined the companies using renewables-sourced electricity for their production, with renewables providing power for 29% of its global consumption. Solar, wind and biomass facilities have been deployed to run some of its breweries in Austria, Italy and the Netherlands.

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