In 2010, it took 7 liters of water to produce one liter of beer; now, it is under 3 with a 60 percent reduction per hectoliter. Furthermore, from 2010 to today, the Heineken group in Italy – where it has 4 breweries, 2,000 employees, and produces 7 million hectoliters – has saved about 15 million hectoliters of water through a series of efficiency improvements. Additionally, the Massafra plant in the province of Taranto, one of the company’s four, the first to be acquired in Italy by Heineken fifty years ago, is entirely powered by energy from renewable sources and is equipped with a photovoltaic system. Now Massafra becomes a reference point for another significant project for Heineken: supporting the water needs of local agriculture, specifically in Castellaneta, preventing farmers from drawing water from the aquifer through wells. As an alternative to drawing from the aquifer – one of the main reserves in Puglia, which will thus be protected from stress – water in the fields will come from the Bradano River and the San Giuliano dam in Basilicata. In summary, 318,000 cubic meters of water will annually come from a different source; 318,000 cubic meters equivalent to 130 Olympic swimming pools. Heineken will finance the entire investment, which will start this year and become operational in 2028. Essentially, the wells will no longer be active, a 10,000 cubic meter storage tank, already existing for some time, will be restored and made efficient, and a lifting and pumping system and pipelines will be built for 5 kilometers to deliver the water to its destination. Currently, the state of the tank and the absence of pipelines prevent San Giuliano’s water from irrigating the fields of Castellaneta. In this project, Heineken has been supported by Arif – the regional agency of Puglia for irrigation and forestry activities – and the Province of Taranto.
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The CEO of Heineken Italy: growth and sustainability are not separate
“It is a project we care deeply about and that represents our role in the territory,” says Alessandro Kock, CEO of Heineken Italy. “Growth and sustainability are not separate, and reducing environmental impact and fostering relationships with the community where we operate are fundamental points of our strategy. Companies must also have a responsibility that goes beyond their own boundaries, and our ‘Water Value’ project aims to be a value for this territory in Puglia.”
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Commitment to sourcing 318,000 cubic meters of water per year from another source
“Water Value,” explains Leo Gasparri, sustainability manager of Heineken Italy, “is a project that goes beyond the brewery walls and stems from our connection with the territory and the commitment we have made to contribute to the well-being of this area. Together with Arif, we will restore a surface water network in the Castellaneta area. Currently, water is taken from the aquifer, which is the same source partly supplying the brewery. Instead, we want to avoid this withdrawal. We will certify the figure of 318,000 cubic meters of water once the work is completed. We aim to finish it in the early months of 2028. There will be a testing and certification phase of the numbers. For us, it is not a matter of water saving. We have already made investments,” continues Gasparri, “and in February, with Tecnoacque, we launched one for the reuse of rainwater in Massafra. At the group level, the 15 million hectoliters of water saved since 2010 speak for themselves. However, this happens in the breweries, while this project goes beyond our complex. It is a return; it is avoiding that 318,000 cubic meters are withdrawn from the aquifer but remain there. The investment? We are a publicly traded company, we have strict rules, and at this stage, we want to focus more on the project’s characteristics, environmental impact, and water-related figures. We are not yet sharing or communicating the investment data. It will be entirely at our expense. We have selected a local company as our partner: Magazzile.”
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