Our commitments:
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We will support our people to work and live as alcohol responsibility ambassadors, with year-round education and support, and a commitment to 95% of eligible roles completing Edrington Marketing Code training every two years.
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We will partner with leading responsibility organisations to help people make positive choices about alcohol.
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We will ensure that our brands will promote alcohol responsibility to the people who enjoy them, that our brands adhere to the Edrington Marketing Code in all communications, and pledge that 100% of our brands’ packaging will carry responsibility advice by 2025.
A healthy population and a relationship of trust with consumers are vital to the success of our business. Our responsibility starts with ensuring our brands are distilled, packaged, and promoted to a consistently high standard everywhere in the world. We have an important role to play in promoting responsible attitudes to alcohol.
During the year we launched a new online Edrington Marketing Code training course in English, Spanish, Chinese and Simplified Chinese to ensure that everyone in the business has the appropriate level of knowledge to enable them to be alcohol responsibility ambassadors. Two versions of this important training course were launched. A shorter version for all our people to raise awareness of our marketing code, including substantial new measures relating to digital compliance, gender stereotyping and events management. A longer, more substantive course was launched for everyone involved in marketing and promotion of our brands.
As part of our year-round package of education and training on promoting responsible consumption, last year we upgraded our annual Alcohol Responsibility Week to a month-long event. Due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, Alcohol Responsibility Month included a series of videos, and other online training events, and the launch of a new “Promoting Responsible Consumption” online training course.
Within local markets, our business works with and funds organisations that support responsible consumption and work to reduce the harms associated with alcohol misuse. These include:
- Contributing to the Scotch Whisky Association's Scotch Whisky Action Fund
- Funding the Best Bar None programme through our UK joint venture, Edrington-Beam Suntory UK
- Funding Drinkaware, an independent charity in the UK working to reduce alcohol misuse and harm and help people make better choices about drinking
- Founding funder of CAP Scotland, contributing £30,000 over three years
- Through the Asia Pacific International Spirits and Wine Alliance, Edrington contributes to tailored alcohol responsibility programmes in countries including China, Vietnam, Korea, Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Taiwan
- In the USA, board member of the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility