Africa: SABMiller brews up responsibility

SABMiller, the second largest brewer in the world, has hired corporate responsibility heavyweight Alan Knight, who has big plans for the FTSE 100 company. SABMiller is an anomaly in the world of big mergers, Ethical Corporation released August 31.

South African Breweries, a company based in an emerging economy, effectively acquired control of a beer company that’s almost a US institution with its “Miller time” advertising slogan.

Once a rare occurrence, such takeovers are becoming more common.

Both firms have long histories, and as a combination have strong sales in Africa, Asia, South America, Central Europe and North America.

At Ethical Corporation’s annual conference in June, Alan Knight, SABMiller’s global head of accountability and a former pioneer of corporate citizenship at UK hardware retailer B&Q and its parent, Kingfisher, revealed his priorities for corporate sustainable development.

Knight said SABMiller’s global reach means it should think more in terms of sustainable development than corporate social responsibility, often a more localised concept.

However, he quickly added that he prefers not to think much about terminology, appreciating “practical actions rather than definitions of CSR”.

Knight believes that when it comes to the debate about corporate responsibility there is not enough focus on getting things done – in his view the European Union, for example, is too “obsessed with process”.

B&Q and Kingfisher’s approach was about fundamentals, such as “where did that loo seat come from”, Knight said.

He outlined ten sustainability priorities for SABMiller, which, as a big brewer with major growth in developing markets, faces as much scrutiny as any big brand.

On the issue of HIV/Aids, Knight said the disease demands corporate engagement on both business and moral grounds. Out of SABMiller’s 12,000 employees in Africa, 30% are HIV positive.

The company has made solid progress on this issue in Africa in recent years, and, as the second largest beer brand in China, is now transferring what it has learned into what Knight calls a “group-wide position statement on relevant environmental and social trends”.

This must be, he said, “intellectually robust” and “reflected in the actions and behaviours within the business units” of the company.

Nkosithabile Ntldlou, programme manager at the African Institute for Corporate Citizenship is “impressed” by the company’s work in South Africa. This particularly applies to the extension of HIV/Aids programmes to truck drivers.

He also welcomes its relationships with small farmers. In Uganda and Zambia, SABMiller uses locally-grown sorghum rather than imported barley for its Eagle Lager brand, bringing 10,000 smallholders into its supply chain.

With Knight on board, and with a future firmly in developing markets, SABMiller is one to watch. The global brewing industry has its laggards on corporate responsibility, and now the gap may widen further.

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