Heineken attempts greenwashing to hide water usage, slave labour

Posted on August 23, 2024 in Heineken, Manipulation, Brazil

The water footprint of beer is horrible – to make one liter, 298 litres of water is used. This problem is worsened by the fact that large production facilities are not seldom placed in water-stressed areas.

In Mexico, Heineken is one the beer giants who contribute to the severe water crisis that affects parts of the country.

In an attempt to improve the company image and the brand, Heineken in Brazil are partnering with Better Drinks – a company producing alcohol and other products that are describes as ”born with a purpose”.

Better Drinks focuses on the ”sustainability in the beverage sector”. The company was formed when former Anheuser-Busch executive Felipe Szpigel teamed up with ex-Red Bull exec Felipe Della Negra.

With the partnership, Heineken gets to distribute Mamba Water. In branded news content in Brazil media – payed for by Heineken – the company states that this product was ”born 100% due to the socio-environmental cause and even inspired the creation of an initiative in partnership with the Sisar Institute: the Mamba Water Project, which built a water treatment plant to supply more than 500 families from Acopiara (CE) for many years”.

In recent months, Heineken Brazil has been investing heavily into ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) – partly in an attempt to clean the brand from the slave labour practices that were made public last year.

Greenwashing is a type of manipulation – activities Big Alcohol do to control its image. he alcohol industry engages in manipulation activities to protect and cultivate their image and the values of their brands. Deploying manipulation strategies serves for Big Alcohol to appear as “good corporate citizens”. The focus of the DUBIOUS FIVE strategy of manipulation is the alcohol company, their brands and value. Examples are Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), green-washing, pink-washing, rainbow-washing, or white-washing activities.

Sources:

Labour Conditions, Water, Water Security

Heineken attempts greenwashing to hide water usage, slave labour

MORE STORIES