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A new 10-year sustainability action plan has been launched by Diageo, the beverage alcohol company and maker of Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff and Guinness. The plan – called ‘Society 2030: Spirit of Progress’ – includes a range of 25 ambitious goals designed to make a positive impact on the world by 2030, in the ‘Decade of Action’ to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

As announced by the company, by 2030 Diageo India will support the global ambition of this plan to:

  • Achieve net zero carbon emissions across direct India operations by 2025
  • Achieve net water-positive impact in India by 2026
  • Ensure 100 per cent use of recycled content in plastic packaging by 2030

Diageo will focus its action over the next ten years in three core areas, selected to align with the United Nations SDGs: promoting positive drinking; championing inclusion and diversity; and pioneering grain-to-glass sustainability.  

Highlights from the global ‘Society 2030: Spirit of Progress’ plan include:

  1. Promoting positive drinking
  • By 2030, Diageo will reach more than one billion people with messages of moderation from its brands
  • Will change the attitudes of five million drivers towards drink driving
  • Will educate over 10 million people on the dangers of drinking underage through ‘SMASHED’, Diageo’s alcohol education awareness programme, now operating in every continent  
  1. Championing inclusion and diversity
  • Diageo will build on its inclusion and diversity record by setting an ambition to have 45 per cent representation of leaders from ethnically diverse backgrounds by 2030 as well as 50 per cent of all leaders being women
  • Diageo will provide skills and training to over 1.7m people to help create an inclusive and thriving hospitality sector  
  1. Pioneering grain-to-glass sustainability
  • Diageo has committed to working towards a low-carbon future, harnessing 100 per cent renewable energy to achieve net zero carbon emissions across direct operations and working with suppliers to reduce indirect carbon emissions by 50 per cent
  • By 2030, Diageo will ensure that every drink it produces will take 30 per cent less water than it does today and will achieve a net positive water impact in their key water-stressed basins and communities
  • It will deliver over 150 community water projects across the world, including providing access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene
  • It will support over 150,000 smallholder farmers with farming techniques to regenerate the land and build biodiversity
  • By 2030, Diageo will ensure that the business is using 100 per cent recycled content in plastic packaging and that 100 per cent of its packaging is widely recyclable

In a press release shared with CB, Anand Kripalu, managing director and CEO, Diageo India, said: ‘We are committed to playing our part to protect the environment and leading the way for the industry. Diageo India has achieved great strides in sustainability – both at our manufacturing sites as well as the communities in which we operate. Our ambitious goals for the next critical decade is our commitment to the future.’

CB’s questions on whether Diageo India will support all goals listed in the plan and if there are India-specific goals and programmes, the company’s plan on implementation and monitoring, and benchmarking are yet to be answered by the company.