SABMiller steps up natural capital leadership at Rio+20 conference

SABMiller plc (SAB.L), one of the world’s leading brewers, has reaffirmed its commitment to addressing the water and resource challenges shared by its businesses and communities.

The company is a signatory of the Cambridge Leadership Compact – a ground-breaking commitment by business leaders to properly value and maintain the Earth’s natural capital.

Furthermore, Graham Mackay SABMiller CEO, is one of a group of chief executive officers, which has announced a major commitment to advance corporate water management practices, calling on governments attending the Rio+20 Earth Summit to make global water security a top priority.

Andy Wales, SABMiller SVP of Sustainable Development said: “Initiatives such as these are crucial to driving awareness of the interconnectedness of the resource challenge. The earth’s growing population will need more food, and producing this food will increase water stress. At the same time, the systems that sustain us all will be impacted by climate change. Governments have a critical role to play in developing environmental, social and economic policies which acknowledge the interconnectedness of the resources upon which we all depend.”

The UN Communiqué highlights the advances in SABMiller’s water efficiency, which has improved by 5% in the last 12 months; and the work of the Water Futures Partnership, founded by SABMiller, WWF and GIZ (on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, BMZ).

Gavin Power, Deputy Director the UN Global Compact, and Head of the CEO Water Mandate added: “The global water crisis demands collective action – uniting business, the public sector, civil society, and other stakeholders. This Communiqué and the examples of action show that many businesses are ready to raise their game even further – urging that governments do the same. Hopefully, Rio+20 will help focus minds and lead to a new era in which water-aware governments take decisive action, working with business and other partners to achieve related sustainability goals in the years and decades ahead.”