On the 6th of May 2019, The European Business Summit took place in Brussels, Belgium. The event brought together around 2000 participants and more than 250 key note speakers, including president Juncker and vice-president Katainen of the EU Commission.
The European Business Summit gives companies the opportunity to engage directly with EU decision makers and to demonstrate that their business can play a key role in developing solutions for the most pressing issues in Europe. Members of AB InBev also had the opportunity to participate in different sessions of the event.
During the “Meet the Expert” session, Esteban Martinez, Global Grants and Incentives Manager at AB inBev, hosted a 45-minutes discussion about “EU Policies & Business Interests for a Joint Action for Sustainable Europe”. The audience was made up of o representatives from both business, and European Institutions. Esteban spoke about AB InBev’s 2025 sustainability goals, which are supported by 3 key initiatives. One of these key initiatives are the LIFE Projects.
The LIFE Projects are co-financed by the European Commission through their LIFE Program, promoting eco innovation in companies, from SME’s to Large Enterprises, including academia.
Esteban’s feedback on the session was very positive: “It was a great opportunity to present AB InBev, GITEC and our contribution to our sustainability targets through Life Grant-funded innovations. The audience was thoroughly impressed by our vision and efforts to meet our sustainability targets”. After Esteban’s Meet the Expert Session, the Vice President of Procurement and Sustainability in AB InBev, Richard White, took part in a roundtable discussion called: “From R&D to Market Entry, what is Missing in the Race for Innovation to Foster European Champions?”. The roundtable was hosted by Dan Michaels, from The Wall Street Journal, and included Keith Sequeira (senior advisor, Research, Science and Innovation at the EC), Ashild Hanne Larsen (Equinor), Reinhilde Veugelers (Bruegel).
The overall experience of the European Business Summit was extremely insightful. It was a great opportunity to promote the project’s benefits with both policy and members of the industry.
