Drinks giant Diageo invests £180m in greener African breweries
Guinness owner Diageo has announced £180m of investment to improve the green credentials of its African breweries.
The investment will be directed towards 11 of the drinks giant’s brewing sites across seven African countries and will deliver solar energy, biomass power and water recovery initiatives.
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Diageo’s African portfolio includes Tusker, Bell, which is Uganda’s oldest beer, Serengeti and local spirits including Kenya Cane and Uganda Waragi.
Diageo chief executive Ivan Menezes said: “We believe this is one of the biggest single investments in addressing climate change issues across multiple sub Saharan markets.”
Under the new plans Diageo will switch to renewable energy at three breweries in Kenya and Uganda.
Plans also include a new water recovery, purification and reuse facility across five sites, which could save more than 2bn cubic litres of water each year.
Solar panels will be installed at 12 breweries across six countries, which are expected to produce up to 20 per cent of each brewery’s electricity demand.
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“We have a responsibility as a local manufacturer and employer in Africa to grow our business sustainably – creating shared value – and this significant investment continues our work to provide sustainable solutions for our local supply chains,” Menezes said.
Diageo recently opened the Kisimu brewery in Kenya, which has solar power and water treatment facilities already built in.