The next time you grab a Budweiser beer, look carefully at the can. If it has a symbol saying “100% Renewable Electricity”, then those suds were brewed using wind power or solar energy.
Carlos Brito, the CEO of Anheuser Busch-InBev, Budweiser’s owner, says sustainability is his priority.
“Sustainability is our business,” he explains. “Beer is all about water and farming products. So if I’m in a community where water is not available or farming is not doing well, I have no way to produce beer.”
Brito has set a goal that by 2025 all Bud beers sold around the world will use recycled packaging, and all the electricity will come from renewable sources. Currently, Budweiser sells 41 million cans of Bud a day, and the company says switching to renewable electricity in brewing operations is the equivalent of taking 48,000 cars off the road every day. That’s a huge promise coming from AB InBev – it is the world’s largest brewer with annual revenues of $54 billion and ranked on Fortune’s Global 500 list of the largest companies in the world.
So far, Brito says the feedback from suppliers and customers has been positive. “People are very grateful,” he says, “that they can buy a beer and feel good that they’re doing it with a beer that’s being brewed with 100 percent renewable electricity.”
Brito is one of many CEOs who are tackling important social issues as part of their core business strategy. Like many business leaders attending Fortune’s CEO Initiative conference, Brito believes that doing good for society is part of his everyday responsibility and leadership.
“When people look at companies, they look not only at what you offer in terms of products and services, but what’s behind those products and services,” he says. “What are the values you believe in. What you’re trying to push in terms of solutions for the community at large. And this helps your reputation.”
Watch the video above for more from my interview with Brito.
More must-read stories from Fortune:
—Australia’s new wave of winemakers won’t make Shiraz
—How the bar industry plans to deal with harassment and unruly guests in the workplace
—How to drink–and enjoy–red wine in the summer
—What I learned in inclusion training at the world’s top cocktail festival
—Tap these bottles of wine with your phone to learn more about their makeup
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