Alasdair Dickinson, General Manager Emerging Markets, Global Travel Retail, Suntory Global Spirits.

PARTNER CONTENT: TRBusiness met with Alasdair Dickinson, General Manager Emerging Markets, Global Travel Retail, Suntory Global Spirits, at the 2024 MEADFA Conference in Abu Dhabi for an update on the projects making an impact as part of the company’s Proof Positive initiative.

The enterprise-wide strategy is designed to help drive sustainable change and have a positive, lasting impact on society. As Dickinson explained, it permeates the business in a variety of ways.

“Since 2019 we have reduced our Scope 1 and 2 emissions by -20%,” he said, while also highlighting that a big priority moving forward is Scope 3, with a dedicated workforce assembled to focus specifically on this.

“That is going to be a big project for us running up to 2030.”

Suntory Global Spirits is already making good progress on this, by “leaning into” projects including an update to freight between the Netherlands and Germany utilising hydrotreated vegetable oil, which has reduced emissions by 90%.

In this exclusive video interview, Dickinson talks about this and more initiatives that are making a difference, such as the comapany’s work around water conservation. As Dickinson relayed, this is an “incredibly important” and fundamental element to the organisation – you can find out more about this in Suntory Global Spirits’ Sustainability Pitch session.

Another important pillar is DEI, with powerful employee-led employee impact groups championing everything from mental fitness to generational awareness.

Having experienced anxiety and depression, Dickinson is an ardent advocate for mental health. This includes heading up the company’s mental fitness group, which trains mental first aiders across some of the company’s key offices and also has facilitated the training of 30 leaders on ‘people fuel’ (which is all about managing energy levels).

Dickinson praised the good work the wider duty free and travel retail community is doing in the sustainability realm, and offered suggestions for collaborating more closely for the greater good.

“The biggest challenge I would throw out to the travel retail community would be: Are we sharing that enough? Are we taking leanings from each other?” he said.

“When I think of sustainability, there doesn’t have to be any degree of competition in it. It’s just something that everybody has to move towards and is one thing that the whole industry can actually get behind.

“From an industry perspective, I think we should talk a lot more. I’d love to understand if there is a sustainability task force we can bring together from an industry level that would really get us all moving in the right direction.”

In the spirit of this, Dickinson, together with Global Travel Retail Managing Director Ashish Gandham, are encouraging the Suntory Global Spirits team and its partners to create joint business plans with a sustainability element baked in, to foster accountability.

Hit play to learn more about all of this and the four key focus areas moving forward…

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