ST. PAUL, Minn. March 31, 2009 – The Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) efforts were included in the Pacific Institute’s recent report commissioned by the United Nations Global Compact’s CEO Water Mandate.
The recently released report, Water Disclosure 2.0 – Assessment of Current and Emerging Practice in Corporate Water Reporting examines and analyzes corporate reporting on water sustainability for 110 companies across 11 water-intensive sectors. The assessment tracks the six key elements addressed by the CEO Water Mandate: Direct Operations, Supply Chain and Watershed Management, Collective Action, Public Policy, Community Engagement and Transparency. To view the full report: (www.pacinst.org/reports/water_disclosure/index.htm)
“An overview of BIER’s structure and objectives was included as a representative Peer-to- Peer Action in their Collective Action analysis,” says Tod Christenson, Director of BIER and Partner, Global Corporate Consultancy, a Delta Consultants/Oranjewoud business group. “We are honored to be included in the report, which recognizes the forward-thinking leadership of our roundtable members.”
First convened in 2006 under Christenson’s guidance, BIER is a collection of beverage industry companies and supporting partners that work together on a variety of environmental and stewardship initiatives.
The mission of the roundtable is to define a common framework for stewardship, drive continuous improvement practices and performance, and inform public policy in the areas of Water Conservation and Resource Protection, Energy Efficiency, and Climate Change Mitigation. It does so through three main avenues: data collection and benchmarking, best practice sharing, and internal and external stakeholder engagement.
In 2007 and 2008, BIER advanced these objectives by developing: leadership definitions on water stewardship in the beverage industry, development of best practice guidance tools on drought preparedness and management, facility water use, efficiency and conservation practices, benchmarking water use and efficiency and mapping the state-of-the-science of water footprinting practices.
In July 2008, Christenson, on behalf of BIER, presented written testimony to the House Science Subcommittee on Energy and Environment. The testimony presented BIER’s recommendations on the following: Role of Federal Government in Water Supply, Water Conservation and Water Management, Priority Needs for Federal Research and Development, and Considerations Moving Forward. BIER’s testimony contributed to the Committee on Science and Technology drafting and approving H.R. 1145, the National Water Research and Development Initiative Act of 2009. The bill addresses the need for a coordinated federal approach to water research and development to help communities that are facing water shortages.
Current BIER members include: American Beverage Association, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Bacardi, Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Brown-Forman Corporation, The Coca-Cola Company, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Danone, Ecolab, MillerCoors, Molson Coors, Nestlé Waters, New Belgium Brewing Company, The Pepsi Bottling Group and PepsiCo.
Delta Consultants Delta is a full-service, global consulting firm providing innovative and sustainable environmental, health and safety (EHS) solutions for multinational clients. Delta has 42 offices across the U.S.
Delta is a subsidiary of Oranjewoud N.V. Delta, together with Oranjewoud, offers multinational EHS consulting capabilities with more than 3,300 employees. In addition, Delta provides the diversity, strength, and global capacity of over 4,400 consultants in 145 offices on 6 continents through the Inogen Environmental Alliance. In 2008, Delta provided services to its clients in over 42 countries around the world. Oranjewoud
Oranjewoud N.V. is a leading consultancy and engineering firm in The Netherlands, Belgium and France. The company offers high quality services in the broad areas of infrastructure, urban development, construction, nature and landscaping, the environment, safety and compliance, and sports and leisure facility construction. Oranjewoud provides services for the entire project chain: from the planning stage, to advice, design and supervision to contracting, management and operation. Oranjewoud N.V. is listed on the NYSE Euronext market in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
For more information: http://bieroundtable.com