KUALA LUMPUR: Heineken Malaysia Bhd is reinforcing its sustainability commitment this year, as it gears into the second stage of its Water Stewardship Agenda 2021-2023.
In conjunction with World Water Day 2021, Heineken Malaysia reaffirmed its commitment to become 100 per cent balanced for water used in its production.
"Understanding the value of water, Heineken Malaysia has sharpened its focus on water-related efforts by adopting the "Every Drop Strategy", a triangular approach that looks at water protection in a more holistic manner.
"Through the Every Drop Strategy, Heineken Malaysia will channel its efforts on Water Stewardship to fully balance the water used for the products, Water Circularity for wastewater treatment, and Water Efficiency to reduce water usage in production," it said.
Heineken Malaysia managing director Roland Bala believes that access to water is a basic human right.
"Often times, water is taken for granted as it is ever flowing. But it is a crucial shared resource that we need to protect together to ensure people have a continuous supply of clean water because every drop matters, said Bala.
"There is no doubt that water is essential to our business, and in doing our part, we ensure that 100 per cent of our wastewater is treated before returning the clean water back to its source."
Bala said its works in the past had been river rehabilitation.
"We have come to realise that there is an even greater need now to look at watershed health protection in a more holistic manner," he added.
In line with Heineken's global sustainability strategy, Heineken Malaysia's water initiatives support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).
This includes SDG 6( Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), and SDG 15 (Life on Land).
Essentially, the brewer aims to incorporate sustainability as an integral part of its business journey, while striving to be a champion for water protection.
Heineken Malaysia corporate affairs and legal director Renuka Indrarajah said through its CSR arm SPARK Foundation, it had invested nearly RM19.5 million to protect water resources.
"To date, we have rehabilitated five rivers, supported over 6,000 people with alternative water systems in Selangor and Sabah, installed water thimbles in 407 households in Sungai Selangor and Sungai Penchala, and reforested one hectare of degraded peatland and built a 305-metre clay dyke in Raja Musa Forest Reserve to help store up to 140 million litres of water for Sungai Selangor annually," Indrarajah added.