The International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD) has released a progress update report which details the progress made over the five years.
Formed in 2012, the IARD s a not-for-profit organization dedicated to addressing harmful drinking worldwide and promoting responsible drinking, among those who choose to drink.
Achievements
The alliance has delivered an average of 347 drink driving prevention programs per year between 2014 and 2017, and has reached out to over 6 million underage individuals via face-to-face interactions between 2015 and 2017 with messages against underage drinking.
97% of members contracts with advertising agencies in 2017 specified that they had to comply with our responsible advertising codes.
It has also increased the number of local responsible retailing initiatives by 66% between 2014 and 2017, with an average of 224 local responsible retailing initiatives operating, per year.
The group said that the report demonstrates what can be achieved when public, private, and civil sectors come together to tackle challenges including the harmful use of alcohol, noncommunicable diseases, and the targets laid out within the Sustainable Development Goals.
Innovative Partnerships
“Having reached the end of our five years we can reflect proudly on the tangible difference we have already made, as well as the work we need to do in the future. It’s our duty to fight the harmful use of alcohol to help improve global health as well as reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases,” said Ivan Menezes, CEO of Diageo and the IARD CEO chair.
“Through our Producers’ Commitments, we have laid strong foundations for the work ahead, but recognise there is a lot more to do. But we cannot act alone. Innovative partnerships with retailers, government departments, health agencies and nongovernmental organisations have been instrumental to the progress we have made.”
“The Producers’ Commitments demonstrate the determination of these leading global producers to be catalysts of change, and highlight the impact they can have by working with governments and NGOs,” Henry Ashworth stated, IARD’s CEO and President,
“A whole-of-society approach is critical in delivering sustainable development locally, nationally, and globally and our collective efforts can go much further if we move from having a shared agenda to developing shared solutions. Together we can achieve change; reducing the harmful use of alcohol and accelerating progress towards the SDGs.”
The 11 signatories to the Beer, Wine and Spirits Producers’ Commitments to Reduce Harmful Drinking are Anheuser-Busch InBev, Asahi Group Holdings, Bacardi, Beam Suntory, Brown-Forman Corporation, Carlsberg, Diageo, Heineken, Kirin Holdings Company, Molson Coors, and Pernod Ricard.
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
