Pairing Beer and CSR: MillerCoors leads

Although some may argue that producing beer on its own is a social good, the beer industry has been into CSR initiatives for a while. Perhaps pressured by sustainable business models emerging from the growing craft beer industry, mainstream beer brands have been working to improve their CSR image through green campaigns and responsible marketing.

Cobra: a beer for your Indian food, and values

Stumbling over a Cobra CSR case study inspired this article. Cobra is an interesting company because they set out their business model with a clear and aggressive triple bottom line strategy. Based in the UK, Cobra primarily competes with the better known Kingfisher. One of the Cobra founders, Karan Bilimoria, was quoted by Article 13 as saying that excellence is "At the heart of CSR," noting that producing a superior product that adds value is the first CSR priority (hear that, Toyota?). He goes on to say that he seeks to create "Not just an efficient team, but a happy and efficient team." Another interesting feature of Bilimoria's CSR principles is the championing of traditional Asian values, which he describes as centered around hard work and family. Bilimoria is involved in UK-Indian political dialogues, distributes Cobra generously at charity events and markets aggressively to an underrated market: curry fans. Talk about emerging!

MillerCoors: Great Beer, Great Responsibility

Miller offers very strong CSR initiatives, focused on environmental sustainability rather than the cultural approach adopted by Cobra. Miller houses a range of other recognizable brands such as Blue Moon, SAB, Molson and more. Miller has made great strides in sourcing sustainable grains and water, as well as reducing their carbon footprint. Like Coca-cola, Miller is acutely aware of their water consumption and has worked hard to reduce its own water usage and to make consumers aware of theirs. Miller also is working towards 'zero waste', better packaging and uses alcohol (of course) based biofuels for much of their energy needs. Like WalMart, Coors does its best to force sustainability on its supply chain, distribution and retail buyers. Miller also promotes diversity, which is an appealing and underrated aspect of CSR. Indeed in 2009 MillerCoors won the Matthew Shepard Foundation corporate "Essential Piece Award, which goes to LGBT champions. Pretty rad. Overall, Miller's CSR efforts are real and impressive.

Anheuser Busch: might have drinkability, but not responsiblity

Anshueser-Busch is a disappointment. The U.S.'s largest beermaker has put almost no effort into CSR. Though they too have ventured down the alcohol based fuel route, their initiatives are clearly not thought out like the companies noted above, aren't cohesive, detailed, nor proven to be anything but greenwashing. Anheuser-Busch has a website, and that's almost it. Interestingly and perhaps relatedly, Anheuser Busch is also one of the top contributors to the Republican party. Another thing that Millercoors did better than Anheuser Busch was clear anti-drunk driving advocacy, a careful dance beermakers must do to sell their product but encourage restrained use of it

When it comes to CSR, Miller trumps Anheuser-Busch by miles and miles. Miller's very comprehensive programs show just how behind Anheuser-Busch is. After Miller, sustainability is most promoted by smaller brands. In fact, Miller's CSR initiatives may serve specifically to differentiate it from the leader, which is Anheuser. Nonetheless, I hope Miller wins.