Coca-Cola and Heineken launch alliance to boost renewables uptake

Coca-Cola, Heineken and other leading drinks brands have teamed up with Enel X to accelerate the uptake of renewable energy across the industry supply chain.

The REfresh Alliance initiative will help suppliers remove barriers to adopting renewable energy and educate them on best market practices, they said in an announcement today.

Ten global drinks giants have signed up for the alliance, including Diageo, Bacardi, Carlsberg, Pernod Ricard and Whyte & Mackay.

The programme is managed by Enel X, the advanced energy services division of Italy's Enel Group, which will connect the drinks companies with renewables providers to help accelerate their decarbonisation.

The drinks industry is a major carbon dioxide emitter, reportedly accounting for 3.8% of global carbon emissions in 2021. US drinks behemoth Coca-Cola has set a target of curbing its Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 25% by the end of the decade compared to 2015 levels.

“The climate crisis is the most pressing issue of our time and the transition to net zero is becoming increasingly important,” said Jane Liang, chief procurement officer of Diageo. “However, there is only so much we can do as individual businesses.”

“The REfresh Alliance will drive collective action within the industry to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy.”

Hervé Le Faou, chief procurement officer of Heineken, said that Scope 3 emissions – those caused by activities in a company’s supply chain – are “one of the biggest challenges that the industry faces in delivering on our net zero ambitions.”

“We must work together to identify areas of our supply chains where we can pool our resources to accelerate this transition for our suppliers.”

REfresh will initially launch in Europe and North America, where it can use existing networks to accelerate impact in support of the industry’s decarbonization efforts.