When you think of beer, flowing taps at your local pub probably come to mind. But AB InBev also has a different kind of ‘tap' – one that serves up millions of liters of purified water, free for the taking by local government and community partners in Leuven, Belgium.
Since 2019, our flagship Stella Artois has donated 2.158.200 million liters of purified water leftover from brewing and other processes to the city of Leuven and Green Service. The water is used to irrigate parks and flower beds, and is accessed via a modified discharge point at the brewery. Users can easily fill up their water trucks, much like filling a car with fuel.
This ‘tap' at our brewery in Leuven, Belgium discharges millions of liters of purified (gezuiverd) water to community partners and local farmers.
“Water is the number one ingredient in beer and essential to the economic, social and environmental well-being of our local community,” says Zone Environment Manager Yleni De Never. “By providing another source of water for irrigation we are helping secure the availability of water for citizens in the area, especially when water may be scarce.”
In fact, in 2020 AB InBev partnered with the farmers' association, Boerenbond, to donate water to local growers who were facing a drought and had no access to water to irrigate their crops.
AB InBev worked closely with Flemish authorities to ensure a safe, sustainable source of water for the Leuven community. Here Zuhal Demir, Flemish Minister of Justice and Enforcement, Environment, Energy and Tourism (center) met with Alexander Soenen, Brewery Director (left) and Hans Goossens, Director General, De Watergroep at AB InBev's brewery to see the tap in action and taste the purified water.
“Every day our teams are taking steps to address pressing water challenges and make measurable improvements in water quality, consumption and availability,” says Pascaline Van de Perre, corporate social responsibility manager for AB InBev Belgium. “We're proud to have our local fire brigades and hospitals soon joining us in this innovative program that's giving water a second life in our community.”