HEINEKEN has partnered with Siemens for its global Net Zero Production roadmap, aiming to achieve net zero emissions in Scopes 1 and 2 across all production sites by 2030.

The collaboration between Siemens and HEINEKEN involves a decarbonisation programme, with Siemens using solutions and services from its Siemens Xcelerator portfolio. This initiative targets the reduction of energy consumption in over 15 HEINEKEN beer and malt production sites spread across Asia-Pacific, the Americas, and Europe. Further sites will be incorporated in a subsequent phase.

In an initial project, HEINEKEN and Siemens engaged in consulting, auditing, and advisory services. They employed an energy digital twin to simulate and analyse a typical HEINEKEN brewery virtually, identifying opportunities for significant energy savings.

The simulation revealed that approximately 70 per cent of energy usage was associated with heating and cooling for the brewing process. Through optimisation and monitoring of these systems, Siemens anticipates energy savings ranging from 15-20 per cent at each site, with an average CO2 reduction of 50 per cent.

Dolf van den Brink, Heineken CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board said, "As we continue to focus on the delivery of our journey to reach net zero in Scope 1 & 2, we know that we must make many bold and ambitious moves to decarbonise our global operations.

"Undertaking these challenges with partners like Siemens allows us to bring in technical expertise and industry knowledge to innovate quickly and at scale. We are excited to continue on this journey with partners who are committed to pioneering and localising next-generation solutions to help us reach our net zero goals."

To achieve targeted reductions in energy usage and CO2 emissions, Siemens will implement an end-to-end programme of scalable and replicable solutions and services across HEINEKEN’s production sites globally.

Using operational data alongside the energy digital twin at each site, Siemens will design, engineer, and implement a system to electrify heat and cooling production using heat pumps powered by renewable energy sources, thus reducing reliance on steam generated by fossil fuels. The system will be monitored, controlled, and optimised using Siemens Cooling Plant Optimisation algorithms, which leverage built-in analytics to analyse plant data, reduce energy costs, and ensure operational efficiency.

Matthias Rebellius, Managing Board Member of Siemens AG and CEO of Smart Infrastructure, said, “We are proud to support HEINEKEN’s Net Zero Roadmap, an ambitious journey towards achieving net zero emissions by 2040. Our partnership with HEINEKEN exemplifies a modern approach to data-driven decarbonisation. By collaborating on an end-to-end program, we can integrate hardware, software, and analytics to forecast and deliver the long-term results essential to every industry.”

As part of the long-term partnership agreement, Siemens will also provide a five-year performance and monitoring contract, connecting the breweries to Siemens systems that utilise data services to remotely monitor production sites, ensuring optimal operation at all times.

From barley to bar, HEINEKEN remains committed to concrete actions to reduce carbon emissions, working closely with customers, consumers, and suppliers. By the end of 2022, HEINEKEN had already achieved an 18% reduction in total carbon emissions in Scopes 1 and 2 since 2018. To accomplish this, it increased renewable electricity consumption to 58% in 2022 and is presently investing in renewable heat solutions for its breweries.

In 2023, HEINEKEN’s net-zero and FLAG (Forest, Land, and Agriculture) targets were endorsed by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), making it the first global brewer to achieve this sustainability milestone.

For complete details on HEINEKEN’s science-based targets, refer to SBTi’s website.

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Source: Heineken