On the 05th of March 2019, AB-InBev participated to the Workshop on Circular Economy for Cities at the Leuven Institute for Ireland in Europe. This event was organised by TAIEX-EIR Peer 2 Peer and chaired by Andreas Versmann from the DG Environment at the European Commission. The TAIEX-EIR Peer 2 Peer is a practical tool that facilitates peer-to-peer learning between environmental authorities. This workshop provided an opportunity for cities of Northern Ireland, UK and the Republic of Ireland to learn good practice of cities from Belgium and the Netherlands.
In that context, Esteban Martinez, our Global Incentive & Subvention Manager from GITEC (the research center of AB InBev in Leuven), took the floor during the interactive roundtable on “Promoting business opportunities, eco-innovation and job creation through Circular Economy”. He presented the 2025 sustainability goals of AB-InBev and the tools the company has developed to achieve them: the internal performance program (VPO), our 100+ accelerator and our innovation centre, GITEC.
A special emphasis was given to the three LIFE projects we are currently running from GITEC: BEVERAGE, REFRESHMENT and YEAST. Beside the positive impacts on sustainability and circular economy of those projects, he introduced the LIFE program and how this tool can be used to realize game changing environmental projects. The audience was positively impressed by the different initiatives we take toward sustainability. Lots of question were asked, and we even got invited to Ireland to inspire and share with local companies.