This United Nations led initiative encourages companies to play a more active role in solving issues related to water availability and quality. The signing of the CEO Water Mandate by Heineken's CEO Jean-François van Boxmeer re-confirms Heineken's existing commitment to both sustainability and water management.

"Over the last few decades, we have consistently reduced our water consumption and improved the quality of the water which we emit at the end of the brewing process", says Jean-François van Boxmeer. "However, given the increasing challenges around water availability and quality, the CEO Water Mandate provides us with an excellent platform to share and learn best practice from others in this vitally important area."

Water has long been one of Heineken's focus areas for sustainability. In recent years, the company has improved its water efficiency by more than 10% and in parallel, has installed wastewater treatment plants at virtually all its breweries that do not have access to municipal wastewater facilities.

In line with the CEO Water Mandate, Heineken will expand its existing approach to water consumption, access and discharge and is currently assessing long-term water availability for all its breweries as input into this process.

Editorial information:
The CEO Water Mandate covers six areas: direct operations, supply chain and watershed management, collective action, public policy, community engagement and transparency. Endorsers of the CEO Water Mandate recognize that through individual and collective action they can contribute to the vision of the UN Global Compact and the realization of the Millennium Development Goals.

The Heineken brand is sold in almost every country in the world. Additional information is available on http://www.heineken.com and http://www.heinekeninternational.com/presscentre.