CSR in Supply Chains of Brewing Industry - Technology Management for Sustainable Production and Logistics - page 96

group (which includes Kompania Piwowarska) and the Heineken Group (the
main shareholder of Grupa Ǚ ywiec), have committed themselves to applying the
United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) principles. Taking part in the UN Global
Compact project, the breweries seek solutions to strategic economic problems,
create sustainable growth processes on an international scale and neutralise the
negative effects of beer production processes. They contribute to the development
of the conception of socially responsible business in this way.
The aim of the study is to show the way in which the CSR conception is put
into practice by Polish brewing enterprises and how it influences their functioning.
The beer market in Europe and Poland has been described. Next, the operation
and results of the two largest beer producers in Poland, i.e. Kompania Piwowarska
and Grupa Ǚ ywiec, have been analysed in terms of the most important sources of
increasing sustainable development: responsible sourcing, sustainable packaging,
reverse logistics, water and wastewater, energy and gas emission. These data were
received from CSR reports published annually by both Kompania Piwowarska and
Grupa Ǚ ywiec. They are prepared in accordance with the new GRI G4 guidelines
in the 'Core' version. In the case of Kompania Piwowarska, the Sustainability
Assessment Matrix (SAM) programme was used to draw up the report, which
means that within individual areas it is partly identical to the GRI guidelines and,
additionally, adjusted to the nature of the operation. The report is also verified by
the consultancy PwC, in accordance with the International Standard on Assurance
Engagements 3000 (ISAE 3000). The report of Grupa Ǚ ywiec, in turn, is pre-
pared by PwC and is the only social responsibility report referring to the Global
Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines as well as to measuring the social and eco-
nomic influence of the organisation in the whole brewing industry in Poland.
Writing CSR reports by beer producers facilitates development and a comparison
with others, as well as an exchange of the so-called good practices and effective
methods of solving different production, social or environmental problems not
only in Poland, but also on the international arena. Companies making such analy-
ses not only respond to their stakeholders' expectations more adequately, but also,
seeing the whole picture of the social and economic impact, plan and operate more
effectively ( 2012 ).
2 Brewing Industry in Europe and Poland
2.1 European Brewing Sector
The European Union is one of the most important beer-producing regions in the
world. This beverage, known to Europeans for a few 100 years, plays a significant
role in every country and constitutes an inseparable element of culture and con-
sumption. The European Economic and Social Committee emphasises the continu-
ous development of the brewing sector and its ability to adjust as well as resistance
to fluctuations of economic conditions. The operation of this sector is compatible