We Are Active, Supportive and Optimistic

We have always clearly followed two guiding principles. First, the health and safety of our people which does not only mean that all our people are safe and sound at every moment, but also that each and every one of us do everything we can personally and professionally following all the measures so as to avoid any contact or spread of the virus.

Second, we are doing everything we can to safeguard the continuity of business and maintain our breweries operational, followed by regular payment of all our employees, with no layoffs or reduction of the workforce, and supporting the business continuity of our customers and suppliers.

We believe that this way of working supports recovering of the entire economy much faster and we are glad to see that so far all the steps taken are proving to be right choices and bring us smooth everyday operations.

Our hearts go out to all who have been hit by this disease, and we need to stay active, supportive and optimistic. From one hand, staying responsible and loyal employer caring for our employees and, thanks to all the efforts from our employees, being a role model company in all the recommendations, presents support to the State in these times of crisis. One more step ahead and a helping hand was a donation of 12million dinars to the Government in their effort for more respirators to treat those in the biggest need. On a global level, HEINEKEN donated 15 million euros in order to support the International Federation of Red Cross, followed by many other activities such as donation of water and non-alcoholic beverages and the production of hand sanitisers.

At the beginning of this state of emergency, we all found ourselves trying to adjust to a new reality. We felt obliged to make a bold public statement which shows the importance of being involved and encourage the others to stay strong and give our best to safeguard each other, by promoting solidarity and care. Through Zajecarsko brand we have kept on communicating relevant hart-warm messages of optimism and responsibility every time that we saw we were entering a different stage during this stage of emergency.

At all time, we all from Zaječar, Novi Sad and Belgrade were together. This was a conscious discipline where each of us had the same target to stay healthy and keep each other safe, which makes me proud of all HEINEKEN Serbia employees, their flexibility, efforts they put on a daily basis and their approach to work.

I am glad that we may see the light at the end of a tunnel. At the stage that we are entering now, our priorities and guiding principles stay the same: the safety of all our people, customers and consumers as well as business continuity and its acceleration in this new environment. It is a careful balance – we want to get back to work but we also need to make sure we do it in a way that ensures the safety of our people and is in line with continuing public health measures.

We believe that many happy gatherings in the future will come and can come faster with responsibility and solidarity.

BREWING A BETTER WORLD

Doing business all over the world comes with important responsibilities that extend beyond just running a profitable business. We strive to have a positive impact and sustainability is embedded in our business strategy – Brewing a Better World, as a long-term approach for creating shared, sustainable value for all.

Sustainability is our business imperative and an integral part of our business. This means that Brewing a Better World is rooted in each of our activities – from sourcing, producing, marketing and selling our products all the way to how they are consumed, and how we can reuse and recycle waste.

We have defined new 2030 strategies for water and climate change and we are looking at how we can harness the power of wind and solar energy, biomass and biogas by making good progress and following Drop the C, the programme to reduce our carbon footprint. Water is vital to our business; beer is 95% water and great beer requires high-quality water. Over the past decade, we have lowered our water use by almost a third. To keep watersheds healthy and communities thriving, we must replenish the water we use. This is the basis of our water strategy – Every Drop Matters.

Even in these challenging times, we stand by our values: a passion for quality, enjoyment of life, respect for people and for the planet. We are committed to consistently improve the impact we make on the planet and to grow sustainably, never compromising on our mission to Brew a Better World.