Heineken España has published its Sustainability in Figures 2024 report, endorsed and certified by Aenor, and in which it details its investments and achievements in this area, mainly relating to reducing its environmental impact, community support and promoting responsible consumption.

In 2019, the brewery became the first company in the industry to manufacture products using only renewable solar power. Since then, it has been working to ensure that all the energy it needs to operate, both electrical and thermal, is produced from renewable sources, a figure which last year stood at 55%. In fact, it has managed to halve its CO₂ emissions generated by production since 2018.

Over 40 million euros
Since 2022, the Spanish subsidiary has invested over 40 million euros with the aim of bringing forward a large part of its sustainability and responsibility objectives to 2025, five years ahead of its global parent company. In 2024, this stood at 11.5 million euros, to which another 6 million euros were added to support the Valencian hotel and catering industry after the DANA natural disaster, as well as 1.6 million euros to implement a new training area.

The company is also working to reduce emissions throughout the rest of its value chain. Between 2018 and 2024, it reduced its carbon footprint by 26%. This year it aims to reach 30%, with solutions such as using 92% sustainably sourced ingredients, developing the world's first low-carbon fertilisers together with Fertiberia, the last-mile logistics project utilising electric vehicles, which is already operating in six Spanish cities, and placing over 300,000 energy-efficient refrigeration systems on the market to help bars and restaurants reduce their consumption and emissions.

Waste recovery and water management
In terms of waste, Heineken España has certified all its factories as “zero waste to landfill”, and recovers 99.7% of the waste it generates for reuse in both its own processes and in other industries, such as pig and cattle feed. It has also increased reusable packaging in the on-trade to 94.4%, with plans to extend reuse on a large scale.

Another objective, responsible water management, has led the brewery to reduce its water consumption by 43% since 2008, to an average of 2.79 litres of water per litre of beer produced. This figure is even lower at its factories in Seville (2.6 litres) and Jaén (2.4 litres), which have exceeded the global target for water-stressed countries like Spain. In addition, as compensation for the water it consumes, Heineken participates in the Doñana, Albufera and Jarama water restoration projects, to which it returned over 2.2 billion litres of water in 2024.

Training and support for the hospitality industry
In relation to the hospitality industry, Heineken invested in training 370 young people in 2024, through the Cruzcampo Foundation, to boost their employability in the industry. Its Talento Cruzcampo scholarship programme boasts a 90% job placement rate at the end of the training. Last year, it also inaugurated the Cruzcampo Tower, where it will train over 3,000 students in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce for Seville.

The company has invested a total of over 850 million euros in the hospitality industry since 2020 to support its activity, with specific actions like the one it promoted to support hoteliers affected by the DANA natural disaster in Valencia. It has achieved all this without neglecting its strategy to promote responsible consumption.

Heineken España President Etienne Strijp said, “We are proud of the progress we have made in 2024, but we know that there is still a long way to go. That's why we are striving to go beyond what is expected of us, investing in innovation, supporting communities and promoting responsible consumption. 2025 will be a key year to prove this.”

^{Photo: Heineken}