Company: Beam Suntory

BIER Working Groups: Water and Benchmarking

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Which of Beam Suntory’s sustainability initiatives/achievements are you most proud of?

Our watershed work: Beam Suntory’s water basin work is known as the Natural Water Sanctuary Program. It focuses on a couple of different things—protecting water quality, managing the quantity, and doing it in a way that makes sense for the area. That means promoting healthy forest development, which prevents stormwater runoff, erosion, flooding, and other negative impacts to the watershed and communities. We are doing this work to improve the environment for the communities that currently live and will live near our watersheds.

What is your favorite practical insight you have gained from being in BIER?

The power of collaboration, communication, and the fact that all of the members put environment in the non-compete space and all want to make a powerful difference.

How has being in BIER shaped and/or enriched your sustainability strategy?

Through the insights gleaned from working with other companies that may have had a sustainability program longer than we have, as well as seeing how other companies approach similar challenges, we are able to grow and learn from each other and find that we have a common approach to those problems. Syncing up and aligning with other beverage producers has been a big win for us.

What area(s) of BIER’s work and the Water and/or Benchmarking working group initiatives are you most interested in? Why?

For us, the first area of interest is in the watershed context-based metrics. There is a lot of value in that for us. Beam Suntory also highly values the carbon work—we have a substantial commitment to become a low carbon company and grow our efforts in carbon management. It has been very useful for us in developing our program.

What’s one cool thing people might not know about you or your company?

Kentucky currently has more bourbon barrels aging than people!

About Beam Suntory

As the world’s third largest premium spirits company, Beam Suntory is Crafting the Spirits Brands that Stir the World. Consumers from all corners of the globe call for the company’s brands, including the iconic Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark bourbon brands and Suntory whisky Kakubin, as well as world renowned premium brands including Knob Creek bourbon, Yamazaki, Hakushu and Hibiki Japanese whiskies, Teacher’s, Laphroaig, and Bowmore Scotch whiskies, Canadian Club whisky, Courvoisier cognac, Hornitos and Sauza tequila, EFFEN and Pinnacle vodka, Sipsmith gin, and Midori liqueur.

Beam Suntory was created in 2014 by combining the world leader in bourbon and the pioneer in Japanese whisky to form a new company with a deep heritage, passion for quality, innovative spirit and commitment to Growing for Good. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Beam Suntory is a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings Limited of Japan. For more information on Beam Suntory, its brands, and its commitment to social responsibility, please visit www.beamsuntory.com and www.drinksmart.com.