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http://www.sabmiller.com/beer-blog
We are in the beer and soft drinks business. We bring refreshment and sociability to millions of people all over the world who enjoy our drinks. We do business in a way that improves livelihoods and helps build communities (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us).
![]()
There can only be one star in the story of SABMiller: the natural and refreshing drink that is beer. Brewing and selling beer is where we began in 1895, and beer accounts for the majority of our business today.
How did our belief in beer propel us through 120 years of history to become one of the world’s largest beverage companies? Beer may be our star but our story features a cast of characters with legendary quantities of vision, talent and persistence. Meet some of the people who have helped build the SABMiller of today (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history).
![]()
Our company today produces more than 200 beers in over 80 countries. But before we became a global success story, we were a South African success story.
SABMiller’s origins lie in the Johannesburg gold rush of 1886. Digging for gold under Africa’s sun was thirsty work, and enterprising brewers seized the opportunity to refresh the booming population. Foremost among these was Charles Glass, founder of the Castle Brewery. Glass was a perfectionist who would sell only the highest-quality beer, and his thriving business soon caught the attention of investors.
In 1895 The South African Breweries (SAB) was founded, with its head office being the Castle Brewery. Two years later, SAB became the first industrial company to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Little could Charles Glass have known that his Castle Lager would still be South Africa’s most famous beer 120 years after its launch.
Over the next 60 years we became a leading force within South Africa’s social, cultural and economic landscapes.
South Africa’s growing population sought refreshment in beer, and by 1955 we were one of the three largest brewers in South Africa, alongside Ohlsson’s and Chandlers Union Breweries. (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history).
![]()
1911
SAB stimulates the local barley industry – supplying imported seed to farmers free of charge and contracting to buy the crop at market prices.
1935
A joint venture with Ohlsson's sees extensive hop fields established at George in the Western Cape.
1949
SAB undertakes a massive expansion programme of breweries, small hotels and pubs (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history).
A defining moment in our history
1955 saw a defining moment in our history, when a change in excise duty saw beer become the most heavily-taxed beverage in South Africa. Despite being a smaller company than Ohlsson’s and Chandlers, we seized the opportunity to acquire our two competitors and streamline production and distribution within the sector. From this position of strength we were set to enter decades of uninterrupted growth... Having acquired Ohlsson’s and Chandlers, SAB had a 98% share of the South African beer market.
In the decades ahead we proved ourselves to be pioneers in brewing, retailing, branding and marketing. What enabled us to become a South African powerhouse? Look no further than the people SAB employed. (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history)..
![]()
The Beer Wars
In 1972, the South African market sees the entrance of a new, but short-lived local competitor – Luyt Breweries. The so-called 'beer wars' raged on for some seven years, generating unprecedented interest in beer (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history).
A game-changing decade
Our 1993 acquisition of the Dreher brewery in Hungary signalled the beginning of this game-changing decade of mergers and acquisitions.
“We bought into six countries and 10 breweries in three years – it was a huge, daunting, challenge.”
Pete Lloyd | Former Managing Director, SAB Europe
To restore historic breweries to profitability, we applied the ‘SAB Ways’. These principles, distilled from our decades of experience, put quality, efficiency and local expertise at the heart of our approach.
Within a decade, our business was transformed. We had returned to our core beverage business, selling off or closing our non-core operations. And by 2001, turnover from our international operations accounted for 42% of group turnover; a remarkable achievement in a relatively short period (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history).
1994
SAB enters Tanzania followed by Angola, Mozambique and Zambia.
SAB negotiates joint control with China Resources of the second-largest brewery in mainland China– the home today of the world’s largest beer brand, Snow.
1995
Nelson Mandela opens SAB's Centenary Centre in the cultural precinct of Johannesburg.
SAB acquires a majority stake in Poland’s Lech Brewery.
1996
Browary Tyskie Górny Slask S.A. is purchased.
SAB enters the Romanian market with the purchase of the Vultural, Ursus and Pitber breweries.
1999
First day of trading of SAB shares on the London Stock Exchange: 1 March 1999, List price:428p Closing price 447p. Market capitalisation based on list price: £3,261m.
SAB acquires controlling interest in Plzeñský Prazdroj in the Czech Republic, owner of leading brands Pilsner Urquell, Gambrinus, Kozel and Radegast.
In Poland, Kompania Piwowarska S.A. is formed following the merger of Lech Browary Wielkopolski S.A. and Browary Tyskie Górny Slask S.A.(http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history)
The name that would become synonymous with our expansion was Graham Mackay. Having joined SAB in 1978, Mackay became our chief executive in 1997. In the next year, Mackay took the pivotal decision to move our primary listing from Johannesburg to London, which was completed in March 1999. With improved access to international markets, we set about raising capital to fuel our expansion (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history).
2000
SAB enters Indian market by acquiring Narang Breweries.
2001
SAB becomes the first international brewer to enter Central America when it acquires the Honduran brewer CervecerÃa Hondureña and Industrias La Constancia in El Salvador.
A pan-African strategic alliance with the Castel group offers the opportunity to invest in promising new African markets and benefit from economies of scale.
2002
In 2002, SAB acquired the Miller Brewing Company, the second largest brewer in the USA
(http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history).
Growing around the globe
With our new name SABMiller, we set out a vision to develop a balanced, global spread of businesses. A decade of major deals saw this dream become a reality. The next step was our move into Latin America, in 2005 through the acquisition of Colombia’s Bavaria S.A. In 2007 we acquired Koninklijke Grolsch N.V, and in 2008 we combined Miller Brewing Company with the US business of Molson Coors, to create our MillerCoors joint venture. In 2011 we acquired the Foster’s Group in Australia.
This decade confirmed Graham Mackay as one of the business world’s most remarkable chief executives. By 2011, he had led SABMiller to become the second-largest brewer in the world, and had delivered a staggering 430% share price growth since the London listing in 1999 (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history).
2003
First significant SABMiller investment in western Europe as SABMiller acquires a majority interest in Italian brewer Birra Peroni S.p.A.
2006
CR Snow Breweries, SABMiller's joint venture in China, becomes the largest brewer in China by sales volume and by brewing capacity.
2008
SABMiller combines Miller Brewing with the US business of Molson Coors, to create the MillerCoors joint venture (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history).
![]()
2012
SABMiller, Anadolu Group and Anadolu Efes conclude a strategic alliance covering Turkey, Russia, the CIS, Central Asia and the Middle East, with SABMiller's Russian and Ukrainian beer businesses contributed to Anadolu Efes in exchange for a 24% equity stake in the enlarged Anadolu Efes group.
2015
SABMiller acquires the London-based Meantime Brewing Company, a pioneer in British modern craft beer (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history).
Sue Clark, Managing Director, SABMiller Europe, spent yesterday’s European public holiday at home in the UK with family and friends in my local pub. Looking around in a moment of reflection, I realised again what a different place the local pub has become since I celebrated my eighteenth, for example. It’s altogether a pleasanter place to be. The ambience is nicer, food and drinks are served more attractively and the choice of beers is far wider.
One particular change has been the growth of craft beers. In the last two years, while the UK beer market as a whole has slightly declined, craft beer has grown by almost 8% to make up 7% of total UK beer sales in 2014. The trend mirrors the US where craft beers reached 18% volume growth and 22% retail sales value growth in 2014. If the UK could match that level of growth, craft beers would account for 11% of the beer market and be selling five million hectolitres a year.
What’s also interesting is the rapid growth of modern crafts alongside traditional craft beers. Combining traditional brewing processes with new capabilities in areas such as filtration and kegging, these have emerged in the last five to ten years and have gained an enthusiastic following.
Compared to traditional crafts, the modern versions offer more consistent quality and come in more varieties – typically ales, lagers and stouts whereas traditional craft beer is nearly all ales. They also stay longer in the outlet without the rapid rotation you see with traditional craft beers.... It’s noticeable, too, how smaller craft brewers are building consumer loyalty through the use of digital and social media.
With craft beers burgeoning in this way, I’m delighted to say that just this morning we’ve announced the acquisition of one of the top-performing modern craft breweries in the UK. Meantime Brewing Company is a pioneer of modern British craft beer and gives us a valuable entry into this fast-growing segment (http://www.sabmiller.com/home/explore-beer/beer-blog/article/the-emergence-of-modern-crafts).
SABMiller today
Our passion for beer and brewing craftsmanship has taken us a long way from the Johannesburg gold rush of 1886.
Today, we have 70,000 employees working in more than 80 countries. We produce over 200 beers, and every minute of every day, more than 140,000 bottles of SABMiller beer are sold. We also have a growing soft drinks business through our own brands and as one of the world’s largest bottlers of Coca-Cola drinks (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history).
ACCESS TO THIS AREA OF THE WEBSITE MAY BE RESTRICTED UNDER SECURITIES LAWS IN CERTAIN JURISDICTIONS. THIS NOTICE REQUIRES YOU TO CONFIRM CERTAIN MATTERS (INCLUDING THAT YOU ARE NOT RESIDENT IN SUCH A JURISDICTION), BEFORE YOU MAY OBTAIN ACCESS TO THE INFORMATION ON THIS AREA OF THE WEBSITE. THESE MATERIALS ARE NOT DIRECTED AT OR TO BE ACCESSED BY PERSONS RESIDENT IN ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF THAT JURISDICTION OR WOULD RESULT IN A REQUIREMENT TO COMPLY WITH ANY CONSENT OR OTHER FORMALITY WHICH SABMILLER PLC REGARDS AS UNDULY ONEROUS (http://www.sabmiller.com/support/disclaimer-gate?p=3ead3672-2c9d-6131-b545-ff15002059a6&refererUrl=/investors/ABInBev-Offer).
MEDIA RELEASE
28 September 2016
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO
OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF
THE RELEVANT LAWS OF THAT JURISDICTION
RECOMMENDED ACQUISITION
OF
SABMILLER PLC
BY
ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV SA/NV
(THROUGH NEWBELCO SA/NV) (http://www.sabmiller.com/docs/default-source/investor-documents/ab-inbev-offer/results-of-newbelco-general-meeting.pdf?sfvrsn=4)
Much has been made of the role of business in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); not least because the development issues they cover are profoundly shaping the business environment. In June we published our Sustainable Development Report, using the SDGs as a lens to view our Prosper initiatives around the world.
From employment and decent work, to taxation, good governance, and social conflicts over limited resources, to name a few, many of the SDGs address issues that are material to companies’ operations, licence to operate, and to the enabling regulatory environment.
However, the SDGs are not explicitly directed at business and – as we know from personal experience – they can be challenging for businesses to navigate. Among the 169 targets of the 17 SDGs, there is only one that specifically makes a mention of business.
We learned two key things through our analysis of how the SDGs relate to our business. First, to look at the targets in order to identify the real business connections, and then aggregate back up to the Goals. Second to invert the standard question we ask ourselves. Instead of asking “how can our business contribute?”, we ask “how can these issues contribute to our business?” It may sound self-serving but it has produced a much sharper picture of what really matters for us, and, therefore, where our commitment and our contribution will be really meaningful.
We worked with Earth Security Group on the analysis, and then together, created the SDG Business Impact Tool. This is a framework that helped us to create a snapshot of our strategic strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in relation to the key development issues covered in the SDGs.We really hope this tool will help others do the same.
The tool uses four dimensions to assess business relevance and materiality of the SDGs:
Business operations: Identifying the development issues that are likely to have a material impact on the costs and resilience of a company’s operations.
Licence to operate: Identifying the development issues that can affect a company’s licence to operate and key relationships with stakeholders, such as local communities or governments.
Innovation and growth: Identifying the development issues that present an opportunity to innovate in products, services and business models to drive growth.
Societal priorities: Identifying the development issues that are a top societal priority in the context where a company operates on which it may want to play a proactive role.
As well as being able to take a multinational perspective, the SDGs are arguably even more important in the context of national development and priorities. We were clear from the outset that the tool must be effective at a national or local level, and help companies to connect their strategies to development priorities at a national or local level, as well as to articulate how they connect to the SDGs. Our Colombian subsidiary, Bavaria SA applied the tool and evaluated the results to articulate the business relevance of national development priorities, and their link to the SDGs.
You can read more about the tool and both SABMiller and Bavaria’s results in our Guide to the SDG Business Impact Tool.
And you can try out the tool here.
We want the tool to be useful, and to be used. We are launching it with a small group of stakeholders but hope that it will be shared widely and help other organisations engage with the SDGs. Please do use it, share it, and let us know what you think of it (http://www.sabmiller.com/home/explore-beer/beer-blog/article/strategic-thinking-on-business-and-the-sdgs).
(http://www.sabmiller.com/home/explore-beer/beer-blog/article/water-and-the-sdgs-a-framework-for-collaboration)
Ik ben erg benieuwd hoe dit gaat veranderen na de fusie...
The page you’re looking for is not available but please continue to explore beer.
http://www.sabmiller.com/beer-blog
We are in the beer and soft drinks business. We bring refreshment and sociability to millions of people all over the world who enjoy our drinks. We do business in a way that improves livelihoods and helps build communities (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us).
There can only be one star in the story of SABMiller: the natural and refreshing drink that is beer. Brewing and selling beer is where we began in 1895, and beer accounts for the majority of our business today.
How did our belief in beer propel us through 120 years of history to become one of the world’s largest beverage companies? Beer may be our star but our story features a cast of characters with legendary quantities of vision, talent and persistence. Meet some of the people who have helped build the SABMiller of today (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history).
Our company today produces more than 200 beers in over 80 countries. But before we became a global success story, we were a South African success story.
SABMiller’s origins lie in the Johannesburg gold rush of 1886. Digging for gold under Africa’s sun was thirsty work, and enterprising brewers seized the opportunity to refresh the booming population. Foremost among these was Charles Glass, founder of the Castle Brewery. Glass was a perfectionist who would sell only the highest-quality beer, and his thriving business soon caught the attention of investors.
In 1895 The South African Breweries (SAB) was founded, with its head office being the Castle Brewery. Two years later, SAB became the first industrial company to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Little could Charles Glass have known that his Castle Lager would still be South Africa’s most famous beer 120 years after its launch.
Over the next 60 years we became a leading force within South Africa’s social, cultural and economic landscapes.
South Africa’s growing population sought refreshment in beer, and by 1955 we were one of the three largest brewers in South Africa, alongside Ohlsson’s and Chandlers Union Breweries. (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history).
SAB stimulates the local barley industry – supplying imported seed to farmers free of charge and contracting to buy the crop at market prices.
1935
A joint venture with Ohlsson's sees extensive hop fields established at George in the Western Cape.
1949
SAB undertakes a massive expansion programme of breweries, small hotels and pubs (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history).
A defining moment in our history
1955 saw a defining moment in our history, when a change in excise duty saw beer become the most heavily-taxed beverage in South Africa. Despite being a smaller company than Ohlsson’s and Chandlers, we seized the opportunity to acquire our two competitors and streamline production and distribution within the sector. From this position of strength we were set to enter decades of uninterrupted growth... Having acquired Ohlsson’s and Chandlers, SAB had a 98% share of the South African beer market.
In the decades ahead we proved ourselves to be pioneers in brewing, retailing, branding and marketing. What enabled us to become a South African powerhouse? Look no further than the people SAB employed. (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history)..
In 1972, the South African market sees the entrance of a new, but short-lived local competitor – Luyt Breweries. The so-called 'beer wars' raged on for some seven years, generating unprecedented interest in beer (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history).
A game-changing decade
Our 1993 acquisition of the Dreher brewery in Hungary signalled the beginning of this game-changing decade of mergers and acquisitions.
“We bought into six countries and 10 breweries in three years – it was a huge, daunting, challenge.”
Pete Lloyd | Former Managing Director, SAB Europe
To restore historic breweries to profitability, we applied the ‘SAB Ways’. These principles, distilled from our decades of experience, put quality, efficiency and local expertise at the heart of our approach.
Within a decade, our business was transformed. We had returned to our core beverage business, selling off or closing our non-core operations. And by 2001, turnover from our international operations accounted for 42% of group turnover; a remarkable achievement in a relatively short period (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history).
1994
SAB enters Tanzania followed by Angola, Mozambique and Zambia.
SAB negotiates joint control with China Resources of the second-largest brewery in mainland China– the home today of the world’s largest beer brand, Snow.
1995
Nelson Mandela opens SAB's Centenary Centre in the cultural precinct of Johannesburg.
SAB acquires a majority stake in Poland’s Lech Brewery.
1996
Browary Tyskie Górny Slask S.A. is purchased.
SAB enters the Romanian market with the purchase of the Vultural, Ursus and Pitber breweries.
1999
First day of trading of SAB shares on the London Stock Exchange: 1 March 1999, List price:428p Closing price 447p. Market capitalisation based on list price: £3,261m.
SAB acquires controlling interest in Plzeñský Prazdroj in the Czech Republic, owner of leading brands Pilsner Urquell, Gambrinus, Kozel and Radegast.
In Poland, Kompania Piwowarska S.A. is formed following the merger of Lech Browary Wielkopolski S.A. and Browary Tyskie Górny Slask S.A.(http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history)
The name that would become synonymous with our expansion was Graham Mackay. Having joined SAB in 1978, Mackay became our chief executive in 1997. In the next year, Mackay took the pivotal decision to move our primary listing from Johannesburg to London, which was completed in March 1999. With improved access to international markets, we set about raising capital to fuel our expansion (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history).
2000
SAB enters Indian market by acquiring Narang Breweries.
2001
SAB becomes the first international brewer to enter Central America when it acquires the Honduran brewer CervecerÃa Hondureña and Industrias La Constancia in El Salvador.
A pan-African strategic alliance with the Castel group offers the opportunity to invest in promising new African markets and benefit from economies of scale.
2002
In 2002, SAB acquired the Miller Brewing Company, the second largest brewer in the USA
(http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history).
Growing around the globe
With our new name SABMiller, we set out a vision to develop a balanced, global spread of businesses. A decade of major deals saw this dream become a reality. The next step was our move into Latin America, in 2005 through the acquisition of Colombia’s Bavaria S.A. In 2007 we acquired Koninklijke Grolsch N.V, and in 2008 we combined Miller Brewing Company with the US business of Molson Coors, to create our MillerCoors joint venture. In 2011 we acquired the Foster’s Group in Australia.
This decade confirmed Graham Mackay as one of the business world’s most remarkable chief executives. By 2011, he had led SABMiller to become the second-largest brewer in the world, and had delivered a staggering 430% share price growth since the London listing in 1999 (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history).
2003
First significant SABMiller investment in western Europe as SABMiller acquires a majority interest in Italian brewer Birra Peroni S.p.A.
2005
Through its local subsidiary, Mysore Breweries, SABMiller acquires Shaw Wallace & Company‘s share of its joint venture in India, and in the process becomes the country's second-largest brewer.
CR Snow Breweries, SABMiller's joint venture in China, becomes the largest brewer in China by sales volume and by brewing capacity.
2008
SABMiller combines Miller Brewing with the US business of Molson Coors, to create the MillerCoors joint venture (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history).
SABMiller, Anadolu Group and Anadolu Efes conclude a strategic alliance covering Turkey, Russia, the CIS, Central Asia and the Middle East, with SABMiller's Russian and Ukrainian beer businesses contributed to Anadolu Efes in exchange for a 24% equity stake in the enlarged Anadolu Efes group.
2015
SABMiller acquires the London-based Meantime Brewing Company, a pioneer in British modern craft beer (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history).
Sue Clark, Managing Director, SABMiller Europe, spent yesterday’s European public holiday at home in the UK with family and friends in my local pub. Looking around in a moment of reflection, I realised again what a different place the local pub has become since I celebrated my eighteenth, for example. It’s altogether a pleasanter place to be. The ambience is nicer, food and drinks are served more attractively and the choice of beers is far wider.
One particular change has been the growth of craft beers. In the last two years, while the UK beer market as a whole has slightly declined, craft beer has grown by almost 8% to make up 7% of total UK beer sales in 2014. The trend mirrors the US where craft beers reached 18% volume growth and 22% retail sales value growth in 2014. If the UK could match that level of growth, craft beers would account for 11% of the beer market and be selling five million hectolitres a year.
What’s also interesting is the rapid growth of modern crafts alongside traditional craft beers. Combining traditional brewing processes with new capabilities in areas such as filtration and kegging, these have emerged in the last five to ten years and have gained an enthusiastic following.
Compared to traditional crafts, the modern versions offer more consistent quality and come in more varieties – typically ales, lagers and stouts whereas traditional craft beer is nearly all ales. They also stay longer in the outlet without the rapid rotation you see with traditional craft beers.... It’s noticeable, too, how smaller craft brewers are building consumer loyalty through the use of digital and social media.
With craft beers burgeoning in this way, I’m delighted to say that just this morning we’ve announced the acquisition of one of the top-performing modern craft breweries in the UK. Meantime Brewing Company is a pioneer of modern British craft beer and gives us a valuable entry into this fast-growing segment (http://www.sabmiller.com/home/explore-beer/beer-blog/article/the-emergence-of-modern-crafts).
Our passion for beer and brewing craftsmanship has taken us a long way from the Johannesburg gold rush of 1886.
Today, we have 70,000 employees working in more than 80 countries. We produce over 200 beers, and every minute of every day, more than 140,000 bottles of SABMiller beer are sold. We also have a growing soft drinks business through our own brands and as one of the world’s largest bottlers of Coca-Cola drinks (http://www.sabmiller.com/about-us/history).
ACCESS TO THIS AREA OF THE WEBSITE MAY BE RESTRICTED UNDER SECURITIES LAWS IN CERTAIN JURISDICTIONS. THIS NOTICE REQUIRES YOU TO CONFIRM CERTAIN MATTERS (INCLUDING THAT YOU ARE NOT RESIDENT IN SUCH A JURISDICTION), BEFORE YOU MAY OBTAIN ACCESS TO THE INFORMATION ON THIS AREA OF THE WEBSITE. THESE MATERIALS ARE NOT DIRECTED AT OR TO BE ACCESSED BY PERSONS RESIDENT IN ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF THAT JURISDICTION OR WOULD RESULT IN A REQUIREMENT TO COMPLY WITH ANY CONSENT OR OTHER FORMALITY WHICH SABMILLER PLC REGARDS AS UNDULY ONEROUS (http://www.sabmiller.com/support/disclaimer-gate?p=3ead3672-2c9d-6131-b545-ff15002059a6&refererUrl=/investors/ABInBev-Offer).
MEDIA RELEASE
28 September 2016
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO
OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF
THE RELEVANT LAWS OF THAT JURISDICTION
RECOMMENDED ACQUISITION
OF
SABMILLER PLC
BY
ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV SA/NV
(THROUGH NEWBELCO SA/NV) (http://www.sabmiller.com/docs/default-source/investor-documents/ab-inbev-offer/results-of-newbelco-general-meeting.pdf?sfvrsn=4)
Much has been made of the role of business in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); not least because the development issues they cover are profoundly shaping the business environment. In June we published our Sustainable Development Report, using the SDGs as a lens to view our Prosper initiatives around the world.
From employment and decent work, to taxation, good governance, and social conflicts over limited resources, to name a few, many of the SDGs address issues that are material to companies’ operations, licence to operate, and to the enabling regulatory environment.
However, the SDGs are not explicitly directed at business and – as we know from personal experience – they can be challenging for businesses to navigate. Among the 169 targets of the 17 SDGs, there is only one that specifically makes a mention of business.
We learned two key things through our analysis of how the SDGs relate to our business. First, to look at the targets in order to identify the real business connections, and then aggregate back up to the Goals. Second to invert the standard question we ask ourselves. Instead of asking “how can our business contribute?”, we ask “how can these issues contribute to our business?” It may sound self-serving but it has produced a much sharper picture of what really matters for us, and, therefore, where our commitment and our contribution will be really meaningful.
We worked with Earth Security Group on the analysis, and then together, created the SDG Business Impact Tool. This is a framework that helped us to create a snapshot of our strategic strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in relation to the key development issues covered in the SDGs.We really hope this tool will help others do the same.
The tool uses four dimensions to assess business relevance and materiality of the SDGs:
Business operations: Identifying the development issues that are likely to have a material impact on the costs and resilience of a company’s operations.
Licence to operate: Identifying the development issues that can affect a company’s licence to operate and key relationships with stakeholders, such as local communities or governments.
Innovation and growth: Identifying the development issues that present an opportunity to innovate in products, services and business models to drive growth.
Societal priorities: Identifying the development issues that are a top societal priority in the context where a company operates on which it may want to play a proactive role.
As well as being able to take a multinational perspective, the SDGs are arguably even more important in the context of national development and priorities. We were clear from the outset that the tool must be effective at a national or local level, and help companies to connect their strategies to development priorities at a national or local level, as well as to articulate how they connect to the SDGs. Our Colombian subsidiary, Bavaria SA applied the tool and evaluated the results to articulate the business relevance of national development priorities, and their link to the SDGs.
You can read more about the tool and both SABMiller and Bavaria’s results in our Guide to the SDG Business Impact Tool.
And you can try out the tool here.
We want the tool to be useful, and to be used. We are launching it with a small group of stakeholders but hope that it will be shared widely and help other organisations engage with the SDGs. Please do use it, share it, and let us know what you think of it (http://www.sabmiller.com/home/explore-beer/beer-blog/article/strategic-thinking-on-business-and-the-sdgs).
(http://www.sabmiller.com/home/explore-beer/beer-blog/article/water-and-the-sdgs-a-framework-for-collaboration)
Ik ben erg benieuwd hoe dit gaat veranderen na de fusie...