Diageo slams ‘entirely false’ research allegations

Diageo has slammed “entirely false” allegations that the UK drinks group tried to “buy” academic research to support its Learning for Life training and education programme.

Diageo’s Learning for Life programme offers training to young unemployed people across hospitality, retail, entrepreneurship and bartending

Launched in 2008, Learning for Life (LFL) offers education and training opportunities to unemployed people in the hospitality, retail, entrepreneurship and bartending sectors. Diageo believes that by 2020, LFL will be a “widely recognised skills-based educational programme” that “leverages” the group’s brands.

Sunday Herald reports that Diageo contacted Interface, an Edinburgh-based company that connects businesses and academic experts, and requested the services of a university partner to “build on the initial data and demonstrate further how effective and worthwhile Diageo’s investment is in the initiative”.

Interface subsequently contacted the University of West Scotland (UWS), whose internal emails obtained by Sunday Herald show that academics expressed concern about Diageo’s proposal.

One researcher wrote: “I think it would be interesting to look at their data and the programme but perhaps any proper neutrality on the part of the researcher might be unwelcome. From a critical social policy perspective, I can also think of a few doubts about a multinational alcohol company setting up privately run welfare-to-work schemes.”

Alcohol Focus Scotland, a national charity working to prevent and reduce alcohol harm, also criticised the drinks firm’s request.

Alison Douglas, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said: “The alcohol industry has a long history of buying research which supports their interests and claims. This latest request from Diageo appears to be more of the same.

“The World Health Organisation is clear; educational initiatives have limited impact on alcohol consumption. They identify the three most effective actions as being: increasing price, reducing availability and restricting marketing of alcohol.

“If Diageo are serious about reducing alcohol harm they should encourage the Scotch Whisky Association, of which they are a member, to withdraw its objection to minimum unit pricing.  Minimum unit pricing has the potential to save lives and reduce misery for thousands of Scots.”

Diageo has responded to criticism, claiming that its proposal sought “objective and reliable evidence”.

“We have sought to partner with a reputable Higher Education Institution in Scotland to conduct research into our Learning for Life programme specifically to gather objective and reliable evidence to help us judge how effective the initiative is,” a spokesperson for the group said.

“This is considered best practice and to suggest this is anything other than legitimate and independent research is entirely false. Since its introduction in January 2014, Learning for Life has been inspiring and transforming lives in communities where our business operates by equipping young adults for careers in bartending and hospitality.”

Having trained 100,000 people in 35 countries across the globe, the European first Learning for Life course came to Glasgow, Scotland at the start of 2014 – training more than 300 adults across 14 courses.