Brewer AB InBev has launched a partnership with South Pole to establish a renewable electricity group buying initiative for its customers and suppliers across Europe.
The project represents a coordinated effort to support AB InBev’s value chain (scope 3) decarbonisation by providing AB InBev partners with a network to source power purchase agreements (PPAs) across Europe.
The group buying programme, which will also provide access to tailored training on PPA sourcing, will support the procurement of green electricity for AB InBev suppliers and customers.
The aim is to facilitate market-leading prices and provide a hedge against price volatility while securing the necessary volumes of renewable electricity to power the operations of AB InBev’s partners.
The initiative is designed to make renewable electricity accessible to companies that would typically lack the financial resources or have insufficient power demand to independently contract such agreements.
The purchase deals, facilitated by South Pole, will also have the potential of adding new renewable energy generation to national grids across Europe.
Scope 3 emissions represented more than 85% of AB InBev total emissions in 2022, making the initiative one of the brewer’s strongest opportunities for emissions reductions.
Zone president for Europe at AB InBev Jason Warner said: “We know from our own experience that the transition to 100% renewable electricity is a challenging and resource-intensive process.
“Our partnership with South Pole represents a critical step in our commitment to reducing Scope 3 emissions and will hopefully open the door for many of our customers and suppliers to begin or advance their renewable energy ambitions.”