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Ben Verhaert

Business Unit President, AB InBev India

Inks long-term agreement to power state-of-the-art brewery in mysore

• Budweiser inks Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Amp to power its brewery located in Mysore with renewable electricity for a period of ten years
• This is the first Budweiser brewery in the country to be powered by renewable sources
• This agreement is in line with AB InBev’s global commitment to secure 100% of the company’s purchased electricity from renewable sources by 2025
• As part of its commitment to a brighter future for the communities in which they operate, Budweiser Commits to adopt Malliyuru village located near the brewery in Mysore by providing solar powered streetlights, solar rickshaws and solar powered water purification unit expected to benefit to over 3700 people across 3 gram panchayats

Budweiser today committed to a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) in India for 3.6 gigawatt hours per year for a period of ten years with Amp, a global renewable power provider for its brewery in Mysore, Karnataka. Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), one of the leading brewers in the world, brews Budweiser and offers the most diverse portfolio of brands in the country. This new agreement is in line with AB InBev’s global commitment to secure 100% of the company’s purchased electricity from renewable sources by 2025. The solar power plant in Karnataka will have a generating capacity of 30 MWAC and the renewable electricity generation has now commenced. Under the agreement, Budweiser will purchase the power from Amp.

Budweiser’s state-of-the-art brewery in Mysore is only the third facility in the world to be powered 100% through renewable sources. The solar power plant at Mysore will have a generating capacity of 30 MWAC.

Commenting on this launch, Jan Craps, President – APAC South, AB InBev said; “At AB InBev we are proud to invest in our communities and in having a positive impact for the environment as well by adopting sustainable methods to our operations. We are building a company to last and are committed to the Indian market. The use of solar electricity at our brewery in Mysore is a vital step towards ensuring 100% of the company’s purchased electricity from renewable sources by 2025. We look forward to extending this initiative across all our breweries in India in the near future.”

The agreement is in line with Budweiser’s global commitment to secure 100% of the company’s electricity from renewable sources by 2025, a cause India is highly committed to India is currently the third largest solar market in the world and has set a goal to generate 40 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources.

During this launch Ben Verhaert, President – India, AB InBev said, “We are proud to commit to securing electricity through renewable sources in India. The adoption of solar generated electricity at our brewery is a first step towards extending Budweiser’s global commitment to a brighter future. We are confident that businesses can contribute to a 100% renewable electricity future and plan to enter into similar agreements in the country”.

The increased renewable electricity generation will also support efforts to achieve climate targets under the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21) agreement that aims to bring all nations under a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change. Globally, this commitment will make AB InBev, the largest corporate direct purchaser of renewable electricity in the consumer goods sector and will reduce the company’s operational carbon footprint by 30%.

“We know that climate change is an important topic for consumers and we work tirelessly to mitigate the impact it has on our environment. As a first step in that direction, we are elated to contribute to our global commitment that every Budweiser in India will be brewed with 100% renewable electricity by 2025, said Kartikeya Sharma, Marketing Director, AB InBev, India and South-East Asia.

As a part of its commitment for a brighter future for all, Budweiser also adopted the village of Malliyuru, located near the SPR Brewery in Mysore to provide basic infrastructure that is dependent on renewable sources of electricity. The primary focus of the actions undertaken in the village is to provide solar powered infrastructural facilities such as streetlights, rickshaws and water purification systems. All of these are expected to benefit over 3700 people- almost all the people of the villages from these 3 Gram Panchayats at some point or the other.

Sri Nischay N.K. (KAS), T. Narsipure Tehsildar said, “This is a great step by AB InBev and Practical Action Foundation at the right time. Whole world is talking about green energy today and as a country India too is investing a lot in RE. This shall definitely complement the work of the government and help in building a healthy environment for people.”

Panchayats would be responsible to maintain the Solar Street Lights and Water Purifier so that it continuously benefits the people of the village. The Three Solar Rickshaws will be managed through a business model set up by the Gram Panchayat, where there will be income generation for maintenance of the system as well as ensuring livelihood of three families who will run three rickshaws. Solar Street Lights will enhance the safety and security of the people of the village in general- women & children being specific, whereas Water Purifier will bring about good health for the villagers. As a whole these renewable energy systems would help in contributing to a healthy environment and would help prevent emission of at least 3.5 metric ton carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

Dr. Birupakshya Dixit, Co-ordinator India Program – Practical Action said. “We are happy to collaborate with AB InBev for the Light Up India initiative through RE interventions near Mysuru. Practical Action strives to bring environment friendly technologies for the best use of people. This initiative would help and contribute in building a better environment for future generations.”

AB InBev is part of RE-100, a collaborative, global initiative uniting more than 100 influential businesses committed to the use of renewable electricity in their operations. The company plans to enter into similar agreements in the near future and hopes to demonstrate that by switching to renewable electricity, businesses can contribute to a 100% renewable electricity future.

At AB InBev we are proud to invest in our communities and in having a positive impact for the environment as well by adopting sustainable methods to our operations. We are building a company to last and are committed to the Indian market. The use of solar electricity at our brewery in Mysore is a vital step towards ensuring 100% of the company’s purchased electricity from renewable sources by 2025. We look forward to extending this initiative across all our breweries in India in the near future

About Anheuser Busch InBev

Anheuser-Busch InBev is the world’s largest brewer and one of the leading beer companies in India. AB InBev commenced its operations in India in 2007 and serves the market with 11 owned breweries across states. The company has a diverse portfolio of beer brands including global brands Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois, multi-country brands Hoegaarden and Leffe, and local brands Haywards 5000, Haywards 5000 Bold, Knock Out, Foster’s Lager, Foster’s Gold and Royal Challenge. Sustainable development is core to the way AB InBev operates. The company works across functions to ensure that sustainability is integrated into the business through the ‘Better World’ program. As part of the Better World strategy, the SmartBarley project – an innovative platform for farmers to increase their productivity, was implemented in India in 2016. By combining their scale of operations, resources and energy, AB InBev is committed to promoting sociability in a responsible way and helping communities grow. One of the top five consumer product companies globally, AB InBev is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium. Geographically diversified with a balanced exposure to developed and developing markets, we leverage the collective strengths of approximately 200,000 employees based in more than 50 countries worldwide.

For further information, please see http://www.ab-inbev.com/