DENVER – Today, the Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP; TSX: TPX) released its annual sustainability report, Our Beer Print Report 2018, detailing the progress toward its ambitious sustainability targets announced in 2017. The report also features an exciting development for the company as it announces its commitment to setting science-based targets.
Science-based targets provide a path forward for companies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to a level that will meaningfully help keep the global temperature increase below 2°C, compared to pre-industrial temperatures. Molson Coors has developed a 2025 goal to lower absolute carbon emissions by 50% within its own operations and by 20% across its value chain, which has now been submitted for official review by the Science Based Targets Initiative.
“Molson Coors is a company of dedicated people who strive to leave a positive imprint on our environment,” said Mark Hunter. “We take our responsibility as one of the world’s largest brewers seriously and believe we have an important role to play in addressing climate change, which is why we have made it a specific element within our broader sustainability agenda. We are proud to join an elite group of nearly 430 companies in the world to commit to science-based targets. We hope that our action will inspire other companies to make the same bold commitment.”
These newer targets are part of the broader Our Beer Print 2025 goals that Molson Coors set last year. The 2025 goals have been organized into the three pillars that matter most to the company and its stakeholders:
- Promoting Responsible Consumption
- Enabling Efficiency from Grain to Glass
- Supporting People and Communities
The report highlights the significant savings in water and energy. Through the company’s work on water conservation, the brewer is aiming to achieve a target of 2.8 water-to-beer ratio by 2025. This will mean a savings of 2.1 billion gallons of water – equivalent to the total water used each day by nearly 24 million people in the United States; and energy savings of over 630,000,000 kWh – enough energy to run every domestic washing machine in the United States for a year.
The agricultural supply chain, a key part of the company’s impact, makes up the biggest part of its water footprint. With the goal to improve the water-use efficiency of its agricultural supply chain and internal malting operations by 10%, Molson Coors is working closely with growers to reduce overall water use. To that end, the company is launching a program that will offer financial incentives to encourage farmers to incorporate sustainability practices into their operations. In its first year, the program will be offering $2 million in incentives to growers who opt to prioritize sustainability.
The report also outlines the continued success of the Grower Direct program, which covers farmers growing over 70% of the Molson Coors barley supply. This initiative features the unique digital Grower Direct Portal, which has been empowering farmers to collect more precise data of agricultural best-management practices at the field level so that Molson Coors can identify more sustainability trends and opportunities.
Molson Coors has also increased the number of major brewing and manufacturing facilities that have achieved zero waste to landfill to 14. Molson Coors attributes this result to circular thinking at its owned sites and to innovative partnerships, including a new alliance with Tyson Foods that is using spent grain to produce an innovative new line of protein crisps under the ¡Yappah! brand.
For further details on these and other programs, as well as targets and performance indicators, please find the complete Our Beer Print 2018 Report here.
About Molson Coors
Molson Coors has defined brewing greatness for more than two centuries. As one of the largest global brewers, Molson Coors works to deliver extraordinary brands that delight the world’s beer drinkers. From Coors Light, Coors Banquet, Miller Lite, Molson Canadian, Carling, Staropramen and Sharp’s Doom Bar to Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy, Blue Moon Belgian White, Hop Valley, Creemore Springs and Crispin Cider, Molson Coors offers a beer for every beer lover.
Molson Coors operates through Molson Coors Canada, MillerCoors in the U.S., Molson Coors Europe, and Molson Coors International. The company is not only committed to brewing extraordinary beers, but is also running a business focused on respect for its employees, communities, and drinkers, which means corporate responsibility and accountability right from the start. It has been listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the past seven years. To learn more about Molson Coors Brewing Company, visit molsoncoors.com, ourbeerprint.com or on Twitter through @MolsonCoors.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the US federal securities laws. Generally, the words “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “project,” “will” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which generally are not historic in nature. Forward-looking statements include those relating to Molson Coors’ investments in socioeconomic programs; water management and other environmental efforts; reuse and recycling measures; and sourcing of raw materials. Although Molson Coors believes that the assumptions upon which its forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these assumptions will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Molson Coors’ present projections and expectations are disclosed in Molson Coors’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). These factors include, among others, health of the beer industry and its brands in its markets; economic conditions in its markets; stock market and commodities performance; crop yields; consumer demand; global economic conditions; changes in laws and regulations; development of new technology; costs of resources and raw materials; force majeure events; changes in its supply chain system; availability or increase in the cost of packaging materials; success of its joint ventures; risks relating to operations in developing and emerging markets; the impact of climate change and the availability and quality of water; the ability to attract, hire and retain qualified personnel; future financial and operating performance within and related to the industry; and other risks discussed in its filings with the SEC. All forward-looking statements in this press release are expressly qualified by such cautionary statements and by reference to the underlying assumptions. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Molson Coors does not undertake to update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.