02. Stepping up the fight for responsible consumption

Concerns about health, well-being and drinking habits have intensified during Covid‑19, and Pernod Ricard has stepped up its actions to promote responsible drinking. A global commitment to eliminate underage drinking, a MOOC on alcohol and responsible drinking, an online module for bartenders on responsible serving, and the leveraging of social media during lockdown are just some examples of what the Group is doing to raise awareness about alcohol and encourage people to take better care of themselves.

Eliminating underage drinking

 As a member of the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD), Pernod Ricard and other key players of the industry have committed to accelerate efforts towards eliminating underage drinking. We have seen a surge in on‑line purchases of alcohol during lockdown. While the rise of e‑commerce is not an issue per se,  we want to ensure our brands are not inadvertently sold to minors.  To that end, we are committed to working with online retailers and delivery companies to develop global standards to prevent the sale and delivery of alcohol to underage individuals. We will also introduce a clear age-restriction symbol or equivalent language on all of our alcohol brand products, including alcohol‑free extensions. We will also continue our work with leading digital platforms to implement rigorous online safeguards to prevent minors from seeing or interacting with our brands online. “In 2018, the United Nations gave us a mandate to take concrete steps, where possible, towards eliminating the marketing, advertising and sale of alcoholic products to minors, and we have taken this mandate very seriously working in concertation with all stakeholders towards implementing concrete actions to make a real difference,” says Henry Ashworth, CEO  and President of IARD.

Making our employees ambassadors

Pernod Ricard has developed and rolled out to its employees a MOOC on what alcohol is, how it can affect us and what responsible drinking habits to adopt. It builds on our Global Responsible Drinking policy which sets out what we expect of our employees as ambassadors of the Group to promote moderate consumption and prevent inappropriate consumption or abuse of alcoholic beverages.

Its content was further adapted and shared on a free mobile app on the United Nations Educate All platform, with the aim of giving everyone the knowledge to make informed decisions about drinking responsibly.

« We’re committed to providing our people with open access to quality information on alcohol and responsible drinking and encouraging them to be our ambassadors, » explains Cédric Ramat, Executive VP HR, Sustainability and Responsibility, Pernod Ricard.