CSR in Supply Chains of Brewing Industry - Technology Management for Sustainable Production and Logistics - page 97

with the aims of the “Europe 2020” strategy in its priority areas: employment, eco-
development, innovation, education and social inclusion. The European Union
meets a quarter of the world demand for this product (Jirovec and Calleja 2013 ). It
has just recently been overtaken by China in terms of production volume, but still
ranks higher than the United States, Russia, Brazil and Mexico. In 2011, in Europe
more than 380 million hectolitres of beer were brewed and sold all over the world
(Berkhout et al. 2013 ).
The European brewing sector is extremely varied. It is not only home to the
world's largest brewing companies, such as ABInbev, Carlsberg, Heineken and
SABMiller but also to numerous small and mid-sized, independent breweries. The
number of breweries in the European Union increases every year. In 2013 there
were 4,460 of them. Germany has the most breweries within the EU, with a num-
ber of 1,339. Other EU Member States with over 100 breweries are: the United
Kingdom (1,113), France (503), Italy (425), the Czech Republic (213), Austria
(171), Belgium (165), the Netherlands (165), Denmark (150), Poland (132)
and Spain (132). The total beer sales in 2010 reached EUR 106 billion, which
corresponded to 0.42 % of GNP of the European Union. It is estimated that over
63 % of the European beer production is purchased through the off-trade channel,
that is, in supermarkets and other retail outlets. The remaining 37 % falls on the
on-trade channel in the hotel and gastronomy sector, that is, in bars, pubs and
restaurants (see Fig. 1 ) (Berkhout et al. 2013 ).
Since 2007 a fall in beer consumption has been noticed in Europe, which has a
direct influence on brewery operation. After many years of expansion on the EU
market, beer production has significantly decreased—from 420 million hectolitres
in 2007 to 377 million hectolitres in 2011. The change of economic and legal con-
ditions expected in the next few years and an increase in beer export outside the
Fig. 1 Beer consumption in the European Union in millions of hectolitres ( left ) and billions of
Euro ( right ) in 2012 (adopted from Berkhout et al. 2013 )