The pursuit of better. That’s the philosophy that Carlsberg was founded on in 1847. And the founder, J.C. Jacobsen, knew that making the best beer in the world required an understanding of the science.

That’s why he started the first industrial research laboratory in 1875. Scientists there created the pH scale and extracted the first pure yeast for brewing. Anything discovered was shared with other brewers. And it was from the Carlsberg labs in Copenhagen that modern brewing was born, in the spirit of innovation and collaboration.

Today, Carlsberg’s focus on science remains. And with global challenges of climate change and resource scarcity, there is huge opportunity to put this to use for a sustainable future.

That’s why in 2017, we launched the Carlsberg sustainability programme, Together Towards ZERO. It sets global targets for 2022 and 2030 across carbon, water, accidents and responsible drinking. The carbon targets are science-based, to ensure that we do our part to keep average the global temperature increase below 1.5°C. And all the targets are set within the context of achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals – a blueprint for a sustainable future led by business, government and society.

Today, we publish the Carlsberg UK 2018 Sustainability Report. It’s an opportunity to reflect on what we’ve achieved, and to focus on where we need to do more.

In 2018 we continued to strive towards:
- ZERO carbon footprint, by cutting carbon emissions from our brewery by 13% from 2015 baseline, continually improving energy efficiency while reducing production volumes.

- ZERO water waste, by using 22% less water than in 2015. We are constantly finding new ways to make the most efficient use of water.

- ZERO irresponsible drinking through promoting responsible consumption together with The Drinkaware Trust and The Portman Group.

- ZERO accidents culture, achieving a 63% reduction in the lost time accident rate. Every employee, whether in production, field or office based roles, should come to work knowing that they will get home safe.

And that’s not all. In September 2018 we launched Snap Pack – an innovation in packaging. By replacing the plastic rings on our small packs of cans with glue dots, Snap Pack halves the amount of plastic from brewery to store. And since announcing it in September, we’re delighted to see many of our competitors moving away from single use plastics in their packaging too. After a successful trial, we’re working to roll out Snap Pack across more of our lines to extend the impact.

We’ve a lot to be proud of, but we’re not at ZERO yet. For example, although we cut the lost time accident rate by 63% in 2018, we have more to do to develop a positive culture around safety for our field- and office-based teams. And while Snap Pack is a breakthrough in packaging, it’s just a small step in cutting our entire beer-in-hand carbon footprint of which packaging accounts for 40%.

We take on these challenges with the principles of innovation and collaboration, following the example set by J.C. Jacobsen. In Carlsberg, we call this spirit Semper Ardens – Always Burning.