SABMiller sugar mill in Honduras certified by Bonsucro

Azucarera del Norte, “Azunosa”, the SABMiller sugar mill in Honduras, has become the first Bonsucro-certified cane sugar producer in Central America and the Caribbean. 

The certification has been awarded following a rigorous evaluation by SCS Global Services, the independent third-party certifier accredited by Bonsucro. The evaluation considered more than 40 indicators of the social, environmental and economic factors involved in SABMiller’s sugar production in Honduras.

Bonsucro is an international not for-profit, multi-stakeholder organisation established to promote sustainable sugar cane production. It is regarded as a leading benchmark for sustainable development in the sugar sector.

Earlier this year, SABMiller’s announced its ambition to source all of its sugar from sustainable sources by 2020 as part of ‘Prosper’, a companywide strategy that includes the promotion of the responsible use of land for brewing crops.

Boyce Lloyd, Managing Director, SABMiller Honduras said: “We are delighted that our efforts to optimise water, contribute with the eradication of child labour in the sugar cane industry and to promote the growth of formal small holder farmers with secure access to land have been recognised by Bonsucro. We also want to recognize our partner The Coca Cola Company for its interest and advice to continue the process for 3 years that concluded with this certification. Our most sincere thanks to Bonsucro, for us this is the beginning of a journey, not the arrival to a destination; still, in our view, much more can be done to have an operation that will be more sustainable and inclusive in the years to come.”