Beverage Companies Form Consortium in Pursuit of Net Zero, Renewable Energy
Ten global beverage companies today (Oct. 30) announced they have created an industry-wide consortium with a goal of helping the entire industry reach Net Zero.
The REfresh Alliance is designed to help accelerate renewable energy adoption across the industry’s supply chain. Scope 3 emissions, which are not directly produced by a company but from its supply chain, are in the crosshairs. These hard-to-control emissions account for approximately 90% of a beverage company’s carbon footprint.
The founding members invite other companies across the beverage industry to join. While the announcement referred to 10 initial companies, only nine were named: Bacardi, Carlsberg Group, Coca-Cola Co., Constellation Brands, Diageo, Heineken, Molson Coors Beverage Co., Pernod Ricard and Whyte & Mackay.
REfresh intends to initially launch in the mature renewable energy markets of Europe and North America, where it will be able to use existing networks to accelerate impact in support of the industry’s decarbonization efforts. As it grows, the consortium will look to expand to other markets and welcome businesses from across the beverage industry to join it in supporting suppliers in their decarbonization journeys.
The program is managed by energy solution provider Enel X. Through its Advisory Services division, Enel X connects the participants with renewable energy providers and supports renewable energy transactions, aiming to accelerate renewable energy adoption.
The program also features a dedicated educational platform to help participants prepare for renewable energy adoption. These features, along with aggregating demand for renewable energy, will help the alliance to provide cost effective and targeted solutions across the industry in a way that can’t be achieved through individual action.
Suppliers to the beverage industry face a number of barriers to decarbonization. For example, lack of capabilities, access to information and availability of economically viable projects. REfresh has already engaged with more than 300 suppliers to discuss their involvement in the program as it aims to support their adoption of renewable energy solutions.
“We have long recognised the need for industry collaboration to deliver the most impact and to accelerate the transition across our supply chains,” said Ralf Peters, chief procurement officer of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and chairman of Coca-Cola Cross Enterprise Procurement Group. “I know from my experience across the Coca-Cola system that supporting our supply partners is a key part of our sustainability action – and that encouraging them to transition to renewables is one of the most impactful things we can do to help decarbonise their businesses, and to do the same in ours.”
Hervé Le Faou, chief procurement officer of Heineken, added: “Scope 3 emissions are one of the biggest challenges that the industry faces in delivering on our Net Zero ambitions. We must work together to identify areas of our supply chains where we can pool our resources to accelerate this transition for our suppliers. We look forward to working with other beverage companies to achieve this and accelerate the decarbonization of our industry.”
