Diageo hits responsible drinking target three years early

Diageo has provided one million adults with training materials on responsible drinking – a sustainability and responsibility target the UK drinks group initially planned to achieve by 2020.

Diageo has reached one million people with its responsible drinking initiatives

The Johnnie Walker maker said it had achieved its target three years ahead of schedule through “impactful” training programmes, with more than 466,000 adults taking part in DrinkIQ training – Diageo’s responsible drinking platform that launched an e-learning tool earlier this year.

In addition, Diageo has led face-to-face training through DrinkIQ in countries such as Peru and Thailand. Interactive DrinkIQ training has also been provided through the new Guinness Storehouse and the Diageo Bar Academy.

“It feels great to be three years ahead of our target to reach one million people through our responsible drinking training programme,” said Carolyn Panzer, director of alcohol in society at Diageo.

“Each one of those people trained is equipped with information and resources that can add to the pleasure of moderate, responsible drinking for those who to drink and potentially reduce harmful drinking. We will accelerate our momentum and continue to expand our network of champions.”

In its 2017 Annual Report, Diageo reported “good progress” against all of its key 2020 environmental targets.

Diageo’s last major sustainability review revealed that the group failed to meet all but one of its “absolute” objectives.

In line with its target, Diageo improved water efficiency by more than 30%, but fell short on objectives including reducing polluting power of wastewater by 60% and reducing carbon emissions by 50%.