Molson Coors Brewing Company announced that its facilities around the world will turn off all non-essential lights in recognition of Earth Hour 2010, Saturday, March 27, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time at each facility. This is the third consecutive year the company has participated in one of the world’s largest climate change initiatives.
Earth Hour, created by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), is a global initiative that calls on individuals and businesses to join together in the simple act of turning off lights for one hour to show their dedication to action on climate change. In March 2009, hundreds of millions of people in more than 4,000 cities and 88 countries officially switched off to pledge their support for the planet. This included Molson Coors Canada, which reduced kilowatt consumption by approximately 1,595 kilowatt-hours – enough energy to power a house for an entire month.
Molson Coors will observe Earth Hour 2010 by turning off all non-essential interior and exterior lighting and signage at the Denver headquarters and the breweries and offices at Molson Coors Canada and Molson Coors U.K. Additionally, MillerCoors offices and breweries in the U.S. will turn off all non-essential interior and exterior lighting and signage. Employees will also be encouraged to turn off the lights in their homes that evening.
“Earth Hour represents an important principle of sustainability – act locally to impact globally,” said Bart Alexander, vice president, global alcohol policy and corporate responsibility for Molson Coors. “The event gives us the opportunity to engage our employees worldwide to do something for one hour that we hope helps raise awareness about how simple it is to be environmentally conscious year round. Turning the lights off on one Saturday night this month reminds us that many small actions together have tremendous impact.”
Molson Coors’ commitment to the environment extends well beyond Earth Hour. Brewing and packaging beer with care for the environment is ingrained in the company’s corporate policies and business objectives. In the U.S., MillerCoors has pledged to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions by 8 percent by 2015, compared to 2008 base year emissions. In the UK and Canada, operations have seen a steady decline in energy and water usage. Companywide, Molson Coors has set a global target to reduce energy use by 15 percent by 2013 (baseline 2008), per unit of production.
In recognition of the company’s corporate responsibility efforts, The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) 2009 Global 500 report ranked Molson Coors sixth out of 32 respondents in the consumer staples industry S&P 500 category. Also in 2009, Molson Coors ranked 86 overall out of 500 companies and fourth in the food and beverage sector in Newsweek’s inaugural Green Rankings.
In the U.K, Molson Coors is a founding signatory to the Courtauld Commitment 2 to work with the grocery industry to achieve more sustainable use of resources over the entire life cycle of products throughout the supply chain. Through this commitment, the aim is to reduce the carbon impact of the U.K. grocery packaging by 10 percent. The company has also worked with customers and the IGD to remove 500,000 “Beer miles” from the U.K. roads since 2008.
In Canada, Molson Coors Canada recently earned a Sustainability Star from the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) for significantly increasing sustainability efforts and setting targets for energy and water efficiency improvements at its Vancouver brewery. In May 2009, the Molson Coors Canada Vancouver brewery was designated a Powersmart Leader by BC Hydro and the brewery received the Canadian Industry Program for Energy Conservation (CIPEC) Leadership Award for its commitment to improving industrial energy efficiency through employee awareness and training.
For more information about Molson Coors and its global responsibility initiatives, visit www.molsoncoors.com/responsibility.