Executive summary
People today are far more concerned than they have ever been about sustainability issues. Shoppers and consumers are showing greater interest in sustainability issues. Additionally, our customers are starting to look for suppliers who meet their stringent sustainability criteria, which in turn are driven by regulatory, commercial and consumer demands.
Sustainability issues are not new to our brand and sales teams. The distinctive square shape of the Johnnie Walker bottle, introduced in 1870, for example, not only saved glass, but took up less space when packed for export, giving us a competitive advantage. We have also used our brands to reach shoppers and consumers with responsible drinking messages.
Highlights of the year
- Smirnoff launched an exciting partnership with Carrefour in Brazil to encourage glass recycling in branded bins, and awarding consumers with a promotion on their next purchase. Read about how the programme benefited stakeholders all along our value chain.
- Diageo partnered with Real, part of the Metro Group, in a responsibility campaign that engaged 500,000 consumers and was evaluated positively by 80% of its participants. Read more
- In its latest engagement campaign, Johnnie Walker promoted Diageo’s consumer information site DRINKiQ at the Turkish Grand Prix through its partnership with the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 Team.
- In November, Captain Morgan launched the One Million Poses campaign, an innovative consumer campaign to raise money for the First Mate Fund which finances responsible drinking initiatives and community support.
- In response to the terrible floods in Queensland, Australia, Diageo launched a limited edition collectors' rum called 'Watermark' to raise money for relief efforts.
Outlook
We aim to focus on integrating sustainability considerations further into our commercial strategies, working closely with our customers to identify and meet their needs, while engaging shoppers and consumers on issues of interest to them. Programmes with customers will range from working with Metro to help their professional shoppers be more responsible servers and sellers of alcohol, to supporting Tesco’s aspirations to reduce carbon. As we refine our stakeholder engagement programme, we will get a deeper understanding of what initiatives are of mutual interest to our customers, consumers and our own business.