Hello everyone. Welcome everybody. It's a pleasure to speak with you all today here in our ESG day. I truly believe this moment will be one of those with a lot of good provocations about the future and the way we lead our company into a better world. As we have already mentioned on other occasions, Ambev has a renewed purpose. We dream big to create a future with more cheers. More cheers mean much more than just celebration. To us, a future with more cheers is about shared prosperity for our communities, for the planet, and for our company. A future with more cheers means more sustainability, more innovation, more inclusion, more natural ingredients, more local and positive impact, more prosperity for all. This is the only future we can all celebrate. This mindset is the foundation of everything we do.
I'm very glad to be here and to share together with Letícia , Carla, and Rodrigo, each one of our ESG pillars. I personally have ESG targets with environmental, social, and governance indicators into it as part of my goals for this year already, for 2022. I'm very confident with the results until now and how they will behave until the end of the year. For us, sustainability is our obligation. It has been fundamental part of our company for over 20 years now. Our business cannot exist without farmers, without fresh water, healthy communities, strong suppliers, diversity and climate action. This year, our Guaraná Antarctica reached an important milestone. It became the first soft drink brand to have all of its packaging in PET from 100% recycled contents.
We also started a collective effort with our partners to reduce carbon emissions, a commitment for suppliers, climate actions on those suppliers that represent more than 65% of our total value chain emissions, and more than 55% of our spend. All our beverages are now already being produced with 100% renewable electricity. This is a reality. We announced three new carbon neutral operations. Arujá, Amazonas, Minas Gerais Brewery in Minas, Curitibana Soft Drinks Plant in Paraná. Together, they will avoid emitting 4,800 tons of GHG annually. Now, there are already eight neutral plants, eight neutral carbon plants in Ambev. We launched another cohort of our 100+ Accelerator in Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, and Paraguay. This is our accelerator version for sustainability startups that award mentoring and piloting execution.
The challenges were in circular packaging, circular economy, water stewardship, climate action, and sustainable agriculture. We held a large campaign focused on returnable glass bottles, bringing economic value for consumers while delivering positive environmental impacts, which was highlighted in the Bienal do Lixo that Ambev sponsored. Furthermore, we announced a partnership with three suppliers to have by 2024, 100% of our productive operations fueled by wind energy. We also held our first Brazilian hop harvest festival in Lages, Santa Catarina, after two years of development and research to ensure great hops, sustainable, local, and with a familiar basic crop. I have no doubt that our environmental strategy is very strong and consistent. In the past years, we also strengthened our ecosystem with our social programs. After the pandemic, with high levels of unemployment, poverty, we launched a new program called Bora.
to support Brazilians through productive inclusion, a way to improve livelihoods and access, increase access to opportunities in employability and entrepreneurship. With Bora, we aim to include 5 million Brazilians in the work market in the next 10 years. It's a big commitment. We will support them with skilling, financial empowerment, and connections through our online platforms. We also opened a pillar to fight hunger in Brazil, a big problem that we are living in right now.
With our partner, Comida Invisível, we are using our capabilities and strengths as we learned in the pandemic to reduce waste of food and help people in need. We connect our clients, our points of consumption that want to donate food with people who need it, and we provide logistics for the collection and the delivery of the food. The dream is to donate 507 tons of food per month. Moving to our D&I efforts also, I can state that we had a great and strong evolution. We have reached 39% of female leadership this year and have a robust plan to keep promoting gender equality, reducing mainly female turnover, scaling our development and mentoring programs, and reducing unconscious bias in our organizations together with the implementation of affirmative actions.
We also invested a lot in our racial equality platform with clear objectives and actions for our people and our ecosystem, not just our company. Defined together, né, targets that were defined together with our external D&I committee, which is formed by five renowned experts. We also had strong results in our Smart Drinking platform that promotes responsible drinking here in Latin America and South America. We act in three main fronts: no underage drinking, no drink and drive, and we are more than ever promoting moderation. We also launched our Smart Drinking Lab, fostering innovation connected to products and services that can help our consumers in practice.
We now have a diverse portfolio of low and no alcohol beverages in South America, such as we are launching Bud 0.0 for the World Cup. We have Quilmes 0.0 in Argentina. We have Stella Artois 0.0 in Chile and Michelob ULTRA as an example of low alcohol. All these experiences and initiatives allowed me to witness firsthand the role of business in the economy and society.
As well as the materiality of sustainable development for business and value chain resilience. I hope everybody is as excited as I am about our long-term ESG vision. Later, Letícia and Carla will be with Fábio Barbosa, Lia Matos, and Claudia Woods from our Board of Directors to share some of our thoughts about it. I believe we have a bright future centered on our consumer and customers- first strategy.
with our ESG principles as a foundation. For us, a brighter future is about shared prosperity for our communities, for the planet, and for our company. It's the growth that is inclusive, the value that is shared and gained for the world that truly worth celebrating. All those efforts were recognized by our award-winning initiatives. We were the best ESG company in food and beverage sectors by Revista Exame, by Valor, and Época magazines in Brazil.
We received first place in the Ethos/ Época magazine racial category of Brazilian companies with best D&I practices, and second place in the Empowered Sourcing category, award by corporate initiatives for racial equity. We are proud of our progress so far, but as always, we continue to aim higher. We believe that strong ESG agenda is vital to our future. From building a resilient and agile value chain, to solidifying our role as a trusted partner in local communities, to identifying purpose and capturing new sources of business value.
ESG will play a key role in delivering our strategy. To this end, we have identified eight strategic priorities that we wanna continue to focus on. Water management, sustainable agriculture, climate change, circular packaging, ethics and transparency, diversity and inclusion, Smart Drinking and moderation, and entrepreneurship. These priorities are the ESG topics that Ambev should focus on and are also where we can generate the most shared value for local communities and the planet. It is through these priorities that we have also identified themes, cross-cutting themes across the board that our company, our business, we are an inclusive, we are a natural, and we are a local category. When I say inclusive, it's because we believe in a sustainable future and equitable for all.
We leverage the essence of beer, its roots, and reach to make a significant impact, from thousands of farmers to millions of small retailers to colleagues and consumers. Our inclusion extends to our products, going beyond inaccessible, better choices, which is why we promote moderation. When I say natural, our category, our business is natural because we are a natural-based company with products made with simple ingredients. We understand the true value of the planet's precious resources. We work with nature rather than against it, leveraging nature-based solutions to build resilience where is needed the most. We are a local business, local category. Once we keep our supply chains short, our impact direct, our boots on the ground. We believe in the future of local economies and invest in their well-being and resilience.
Inclusive, natural and local, that sum up who we are and how we will create shared prosperity. We are proud to lead the way into the future and to be a next generation company today. As always, we appreciate your feedback and partnership, and please join us to create a future with more cheers. Thank you very much. Welcome. Now I would like to invite Tati, our Investor Relations Director, to come to stage.
Thank you, Jean. Good morning and good afternoon, everyone. I am Tatiana, Investor Relations at Ambev. I will be your host for today's event, in which we will share the most relevant and updated topics on our ESG agenda. We will start with our Vice President, Rodrigo, who will present our strategic framework on natural, inclusive, and local. Our Vice President, Carla, will show how our culture transformation is real. We will have a round table with our board members and our Vice President, Letícia , will lead the debate. Finally, we will close this event with a Q&A session with our sell-side analysts and our executive officers. Just to remind you all that questions will come through our usual platform at the bottom of the page for the sell-side analysts only.
Hello, everyone. It's always a great pleasure to be here with you. Here at Ambev, sustainability is our business, and therefore, our ecosystem is engaged in short, medium, and long-term value creation. We understand we are generating positive and transforming social and environmental impact. Together, we dream big to create a better and more sustainable world and a future with more cheers. To ensure a great future, we always work in sustainable way, considering the preservation of natural resources and the care for communities, suppliers, our people, customers and consumers. Our sustainability journey has always been present since last century when we start the environmental management program in our operations. As a good example, all breweries have, since nineties, a dedicated environmental manager and an environmental management system in place.
In 2010, we released our first cycle of public sustainability goals, which we achieved 100%. In 2013, once again, we set new public goals that we also achieved successfully. At the time, the goals were focused on our internal operations. In 2017, we are one of the pioneers on launch of public commitments, which look beyond our walls, considering the whole ecosystem. We are consistently advancing in our goals for 2025, and this journey, as I said, is decades long. We work consistently year after year, and you'll be able to get to know more about our actions to achieve these commitments for 2025. Today, I'll focus on three topics, water, carbon, and circular packaging. Starting with our main ingredient, water.
Moving on to the way everything is produced and the impact it has on the atmosphere with carbon, and finalizing with the end product, or rather, the new beginning of the cycle of the products, our packaging. In 2021, we were negatively impacted by the pandemic, mainly the circular packaging goal. With waste pickers cooperatives being closed down, the availability of recycled materials went down, reducing our indicators. In addition, with bars being closed, our returnable packaging shares was impacted. This is our main challenge goal for 2025. We have kept our efforts, and we are once again evolving consistently this year, already achieving similar levels those we had in 2020. Well, I don't have to remind you how precious water is for our life and the planet. Taking care of it demands collective efforts in many fronts.
For Ambev, it's critical. It's key for our business sustainability. After all, we are a beverage company, and water is our main ingredient. That's why we dream big for a future with more water for everyone, and we establish goals for that. Until 2025, 100% of our communities in high stress areas will have measurably improved water availability and quality. We work very hard internally to reduce the water consumption in operations. In the last 20 years, we've reduced consumption by 55% in South America. Our objective is to get below 2 L of water for every liter of beer produced in all breweries where we have the high water stress until 2025. To get there, we invest in innovation and technology mainly. Our focus of actions are efficiency routine, training, standardization of procedures, and new technologies and equipment.
Not only in the industrial parts that we looked for reduction. We've also been acting in sales and distribution. This year, we are starting a partnership with [TerraCycle], a startup from the 100+ Accelerator program. The company specializes in water consumption in non-industrial environments. We have already implemented in 14 distribution centers with an average reduction of 40% in water consumption. The expansion of the project is already set for more 14 operations, and we thought it was key to divide these whole internal learnings with our society. For that, we create SAVEh, the System for Self-Evaluation of Water Efficiency, a platform idealized by Ambev together with Fundação Avina for Ambev's three main environments.
Ambev freely shares its water management system with the main goal of supporting small and medium companies to reduce water consumption. This initiative is also supported by the UN Global Compact. In addition to our internal work, we work hard beyond our walls. We protect forests, repairing woodlands and water supplies that keep springs supplied and balance the cycle of water. We invest in nature-based, also supported by the UN Global Compact. In addition to our internal work, we work hard beyond our walls. We protect forests, repairing woodlands and water supplies that keep springs supplied and balance the cycle of water.
We invest in nature-based solutions that ensure the availability and the quality of water by reducing the chance of floods and droughts. This allows the water to flow its natural course, being filtered by the ground. We are very well advanced in the seven steps methodology for all areas, and this year all of them will be in the implementation phase. The Watershed & Forest Program is one of the most ambitious initiatives that we have for the water platform. Our mission is to collaborate in the recuperation and preservation of the important basins in the country.
Through an ample diagnosis of each basins, we gather various partners and outline a local plan with actions that include environmental education, ecological restoration, and conservation practices. In 2010, we started in Brasília together with WWF-Brazil, and we had important achievements in learning. Since then, we have had 12 years of acting, over 10,000 hectares conserved and over 700 restoration sectors that equivalent to more than 700 soccer fields.
We have over 1.8 million trees planted, and also we have thus conserved biodiversity and ensure access to water for local communities. All that is only possible with partnerships with local governments, WWF, Fundação Avina, and The Nature Conservancy. Ambev is also part of the Water Resilience Coalition, a movement that aims to put global water stress and fresh water resource preservation at the top of the corporate agenda through collective actions in basins with scarcity of water, ambitious, quantifiable commitments until 2050. At Ambev, we dream big, and climate action is an important part of our dream.
To continue operating responsibly, we need to opt for clean, renewable energies and move towards net zero. Each and every human action generates an impact in carbon emissions. Our goal is to reduce this impact as much as possible and compensate only the residual emissions. That's why we have a commitment to have 100% of our purchased energy coming from renewable sources and reduce by 25% the emissions across the value chain until 2025. Beyond that, we aim to achieve net zero in our operations until 2030, and in the whole value chain to have 100% of our purchased energy come from renewable sources and reduce by 25% the emissions across the value chain until 2025.
from the brew to the consumers until 2040. The goal to reduce 25% of the emissions in our value chain is well underway. We have surpassed our goal for Scope 1 and Scope 2 with 41% reduction per hectoliter produced versus 2017 baseline. Our purchase of renewable energy is well underway too. Our biggest challenge is in Scope 3, our value chain, where we have several actions being carried out, which I will describe soon. Let's get into the details of each scope. Keep in mind that our emissions are distributed throughout the value chain this way. Scope 1 are the emissions related to our own operations.
We work hard on our operations to reduce our own emissions through the use of eco-efficient programs, biomass energy, modulations, new technologies, and many other actions. These reductions have allowed us to achieve our first carbon- neutral operations last year. To go into this story, I'm going to invite my partner, Renata, Supply Environment & Safety Director, to tell us more about it.
We are in Ponta Grossa in the south of Brazil. Adriática is our first carbon- neutral brewery, announced in September 2021. We had many challenges, the main of which was to engage the team in this purpose and make everyone understand how important it is for our business, for the environment, and for the society as a whole. Let's take a look into the three focus of this work, energy efficiency, energy matrix, reduction of emission. Let's dive into our work with energy efficieny. The teams in our brewery follows the total purchased energy indicator daily.
This consists of the sum of electricity and steam used in our production. This management aims to achieve energy consumption targets over time, as well as to benchmark breweries to identify new opportunities for improvement and increase our energy efficiency. This reduces our carbon emission and make this journey financially sustainable, lowering production costs. Our journey to energy efficiency started over 25 years ago by measuring consumption by area and even by equipment. Throughout data analysis, new ideas for process improvements come up. Equipment modulation, losses problem solution, and consumption optimization.
Ideas become good practices that we standardize and we share with other operations. By equipment. Throughout data analysis, new ideas for process improvements come up. Equipment modulation, losses problem solution, and consumption optimization. Ideas become good practices that we standardize and we share with other operations. Let's go to production area to get to know some initiatives and controls we conduct here in Ponta Grossa involving our whole team. Here in the brewing process, in addition to management routines, we are investing in more efficient equipment and processes. More efficient heat exchangers, energy recovery systems, lower steam consumption equipment. These and other process improvements have changed the profile of our production and consumption, making them even more efficient. Our packaging team is also engaged and contributing to our objective. Energy recovery systems, lower steam consumption equipment.
Here, our energy efficiency is directly connected to our increased productivity. With the flexibilization of our bottling, we are increasing the usage rate of our packaging lines, leveraging the volume produced, and reducing our inefficiencies in general. With this and other actions, Ponta Grossa managed to reduce energy consumption by 20% during the last five years. The brewery is among the 50% best operations in this indicator within the AB InBev global group. That's not just the picture in Ponta Grossa. When we look at Brazil with the sum of its operations, results are also quite expressive.
This journey has been promoting learnings of new practices, technologies, innovation along with our suppliers, startups, and universities. The second work focus is to make our energy matrix mainly renewable. Electrical energy made up the second biggest contributor for the emissions in our operations in 2017 . In Brazil, 100% of our supply already uses electrical energy purchased from renewable sources since 2021, representing a significant reduction in our emissions. Another significant source of emissions is heat energy. When we talk about steam generation with renewable fuels, our journey in Brazil started in 2003 with the acquisition of our...
first boilers moved by biomass energy to substitute fossil oils. Since then, we have 13 units in Brazil with boilers using renewable fuels such as biomass or vegetable oil. This year, we implemented the first boiler with landfill biomethane as fuel. Our newest units, such as Ponta Grossa, were already conceived with this new concept of sustainability.
Here in the brewery, 100% of the fuel for the boiler is biomass with certified sources. We are also looking to recover all the energy sources generated in our production process. The main example of this is the energy reuse of the biogas generated in our wastewater treatment station. In Ponta Grossa, we use this gas in a microturbine to generate electricity used by the area. We have three other operations in Brazil with microturbines, more than 10 that recover this renewable fuel
i n steam production, and our goal is to get close to 100% recovery soon. In the whole of Brazil, we have managed to reduce our emissions in absolute numbers and in intensity. Our main focus is significantly reducing carbon emissions, compensating only a small residual percentage. Because of that, we are looking at all the sources. Here in logistics, we are replacing the fuel from the forklifts that move items in our storage for renewables as well. In addition, we are recycling our air conditioning gas, avoiding emissions to the atmosphere.
Here in Ponta Grossa, we are self-sufficient in CO2 usage versus generation coming from the fermentation process, which avoid us having to buy it externally. All this work has resulted in more than 80% reduction in the total CO2 emissions in Ponta Grossa from 2017 until now, which makes us really proud and inspires us to continue our journey in the whole company. We currently have a detailed roadmap with the challenge of our journey for the next years, focusing in our ambition to become net zero until 2040. We know our responsibility goes beyond our walls, that we need to promote technological development, and that we have an important role as transformation agent in our supply chain and in our ecosystem.
This team is part of this transformation, and we know we have a lot of work ahead of us. We are a company that always looks to the future, a sustainable future, a future for everyone with more cheers.
This story fills the Ambev's people with pride, and it gives us so much energy to move forward. Speaking of moving forward, let's talk about Scope 2 emissions related to the purchased energy. 100% of the energy purchased in Brazil is already renewable. Not only here. Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Canada, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Panama also use 100% renewable energy. In Ambev total, we have reached 84% of energy purchased. The energy purchased in Brazil is already renewable. Not only here. Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Canada, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Panama also use 100% renewable energy. In Ambev total, we have reached 84% of energy purchased from renewable sources. We also have over 40 solar power stations already in operation supplying our distribution centers.
More than a goal, our commitment to renewable energy is a path of no return. Let's move to the Scope 3, our value chain and our biggest challenge. Our relevant front in the Scope 3 are our clients, where we have thousands of coolers spread out, with of course, consuming energy. For that, we work on retrofitting these coolers, updating older models for more eco-efficient ones, reducing consumption by 26% in comparison to 2017. In Brazil, 84% of all coolers are already new, more eco-efficient ones.
In addition to this great initiative, we have another one, which is to bring renewable energy to these clients. For consuming energy. For that, we work on retrofit these coolers, updating older models for more eco-efficient ones, reducing consumption by 26% in comparison to 2017. For that, we have a partnership with a renewable energy marketplace startup called Lemon Energia. Today, over 4,000 clients receive renewable energy with reductions of their emissions and also the energy bills. The expectation is almost $8 million savings for these clients in energy bills for 2023.
Within Scope 3, we also work hard in the logistics pillar, where we have a green logistics program since 2012. The many initiatives here are collaborative transportation with other companies, development of new models like trains and vessels, more efficient routes, and also the electric trucks. We've been working together with the automotive industry to develop the EVs here in Brazil. Today, there are over 250 electric trucks serving our operations supplied by renewable energy. The odometer already measures over 700,000 km driven with this new technology. Still, our greatest challenge is to engage our suppliers, especially in the packaging and agriculture, which represents the biggest part of our emissions, as you can see in the chart. In packaging, the main action we have planned are focused on glass and can suppliers to reduce their Scope 1 and 2.
Also increase recycled content, increase returnable mix, and carry on with lightweighting projects, reducing the weight and of course, reduce the carbon emissions. In addition, we have a roadmap to achieve carbon neutrality in our verticalized operations. In agriculture, we aim for use of low carbon regenerative techniques, and with our malthouses moving towards carbon neutrality as well. Another great initiatives from this year is that we already have over 200 suppliers that signed the commitment for the climate action, an initiative to engage our value chain on it. Together, these suppliers represent around 70% of Ambev's emissions in Brazil. These suppliers commit to account and report their carbon emissions, define public reduction goals, and carry out concrete actions to decarbonize.
In order for them to reach these goals, we have opened our doors for benchmarking and provide free online content about climate actions in six different models. Everything we do is based on international and recognized methods based on top-level science, including the GHG Protocol and the Science Based Targets initiative. We have also been working on reports based on the recommendations by the TCFD, which have been requested in other countries and currently in development in Brazil. Reusing, reducing, and recycling are paramount to close the cycle of everything we produced. For that reason, until 2025, 100% of our products will be returnable or made mainly from recycled materials. Since the first aluminum can in Brazil with Skol, way back moving to Corona with the first returnable long neck bottle, we have looked for truly positive social and environmental impact for the society.
In 2022, 10 years after the first 100% recycled PET bottle in Brazil, we reached 100% of Guaraná Antarctica production made with 100% recycled bottles. We still need to evolve in other brands with the other types of plastic we use as well. In 2021, as I mentioned at the beginning, we had the impact of the pandemic, with the waste picker cooperatives being closed down, reducing the availability of waste for recycled production, reducing our indicators, with the main impact being on the PET chain. Because of this, we had a reduction in this indicator when we compare with the previous year, finished the year of 2021 with 17% of the total PET recycled. In the glass bottle in 2021, we kept the 45% recycled package levels.
This number trends to grow with the launch of the new glass factory in Paraná with the best technology for recycling. Finally, with cans, we kept also the high levels of 74% in 2021. Last year, with the bars being closed down, we also took a hit on the returnable packaging share. This year, however, we completely focus on this, and we already see a change in this downtrend. In addition to our global commitment, we have a specific
commitment here in Brazil, released in 2020, to eliminate the plastic pollution for our packaging till 2025. The main front to achieve these objectives is to use recycled materials in other packagings, which is already well addressed for Guaraná, and we have an evolving roadmap for the other brands and other plastics besides PET. We are always looking for the innovation of our products in order to reach all these goals. In addition to the first returnable Corona long- neck bottle that I mentioned, we had the first 100% recycled industrial scale glass bottle launched with Colorado. A good example is growPack, another startup of the 100+ Accelerator program.
They develop a package made of corn husk, a waste product of agriculture, and this has shown encouraging prospects. We also develop innovations to increase convenience and returnable shares. For example, consumers are now able to buy and trade returnables through the Zé Delivery. Our people continue to be super engaged, focused on sustainability, not only internal actions, but as you saw in our whole value chain. In addition, we have this desire to share our knowledge, thrive with society.
For that reason, we work together with our ecosystem, government, NGOs, startups, and suppliers. Everyone united make sustainability a reality. We are guided by our purpose, our people, and our innovations. This feeling make us always look for the best in our relationships, create a better world. All of that making sure we are on the right path to create a future with more cheers.
Thank you, Rodrigo and Renata. Sustainability has always been core to who we are and what we do. Our business is natural, it's inclusive, and it's local. It is in our DNA since ages. Now, I'm very happy to invite our Vice President, Carla, to talk about our cultural transformation. Here at Ambev, we take this very seriously. It's one of our big commitments, so let her show you how. Over to you, Carla.
Thank you very much, Tati. Hello everyone. I'm very happy to be here to share with you our social platform connected to ESG. I'll start by saying that our purpose is we dream big to create a future with more cheers. And that's why our company exists, and that's why we're here for. A future with more cheers. And that's shared growth for the communities and for the planet. And it's the growth that's also inclusive the value that shares, and that's truly worth celebrating. And the shared value mindset is the foundation of everything that we do, especially in the social business. It's impressive how our business and how our people can leverage and scale the reach and scale of our social programs. So this mindset, it's what enables us to unlock and also to use our strengths, as JJ was saying, as a company, our capabilities, our structure, our assets, and also our leadership and our people, to deliver more sustainability, to deliver more innovation, and also to share more value with our ecosystem. So let's now watch a video that explains how we work. Business and how our people can leverage and scale...
Hoje, você passa aqui nesse povoado, você diz: "Ah, é um povoado elevado", mas aqui já teve muita fome.
O contexto social é de muita vulnerabilidade, muita pobreza. Aí a gente enxerga que a educação é o único caminho pra essa juventude.
Né, se uma startup de pessoas brancas tem que entregar um resultado, uma startup de uma pessoa negra tem que entregar acima do esperado. A gente precisava faturar, precisava pagar conta.
Passa aqui nesse povoado, você diz: "Ah, é um povoado elevado", mas aqui já teve muita fome.
O contexto social é de muita vulnerabilidade, muita pobreza. Aí a gente enxerga que a educação é o único caminho pra essa juventude.
Se uma startup de pessoas brancas tem que entregar um resultado, uma startup de uma pessoa negra tem que entregar acima do esperado. A gente precisava faturar, precisava pagar conta, precisava sobreviver. Quando a gente soube, né, que a gente iria estar com a Ambev, foi fantástico. A nossa plataforma Diversidade.io, ela estava com um faturamento de menos de BRL 500. Depois da Ambev, a gente tá com um faturamento médio acima de BRL 50,000.
A minha casa antes, nem de barro não era, tampada de palha. Aí a casa já tava caindo. Eu pensando: "E como é que eu vou fazer essa casa?" É, a gente plantava a mandioca, mas não tinha pra quem vender. Aí em seguida, chegou a Ambev pra comprar. Então esse dinheiro bateu na minha mão, não vou deixar ele passar em branco, vou fazer o meu sonho. Aí construí uma casa.
Que o nosso objetivo maior é proteger essas crianças, né? São crianças que são vulneráveis.
Aí em seguida, chegou a Ambev pra comprar. Esse dinheiro bateu na minha mão, não vou deixar ele passar em branco, vou fazer o meu sonho. Construí uma casa.
Que o nosso objetivo maior é proteger essas crianças, né? São crianças que são vulneráveis, muitas fica na rua sem ter pra onde ir. Não é um contexto fácil. Quando a gente vê o resultado, é fantástico, porque aí menino tocando violão, menino ganhando campeonato de judô, de karatê. Em 2019, quando entramos no Voa, o nosso impacto social era de 153 alunos por ano. Quando a gente chegou ao final do ano, a gente já chegou a quase 800 alunos. São dados que a gente só conseguiu porque a gente aprendeu com a Ambev. Imagina, a Ambev é a maior do mundo, então só tem que dar certo.
Qualquer lado do Brasil que a Ambev tiver passando por lá, pode crer, trabalhe com coragem que as coisas melhoram. O feijão não vai faltar na mesa, não. Certo, Chalita?
This video shows why ESG plays a key role in delivering our corporate purpose. That's why I like to show it to you because it shows the connection of everything. Here you can see the priorities, the eight priorities in our ESG strategy that Rodrigo was mentioning about the environment, and also the topics where we can generate most value for our communities and for the planet. I'm gonna cover three of them. I'm gonna cover entrepreneurship, diversity and inclusion, and also Smart Drinking.
It's also through these priorities that we have identified the cross-cutting themes in everything that we do at Ambev. We are an inclusive, natural, and local category. Let's start with entrepreneurship. We dream big, and we dream together, as I said. We launched a new program that's gonna be here at least for the next 10 years. It's called Bora, and it's a productive inclusion program that will give new perspectives and new opportunities for 5 million people over the next 10 years. As you will see, it's in fact much more than a program.
It's a movement that just started. That's also something that we do through partnerships. This is our manifesto here on the screen you see. We believe in the productive inclusion of our ecosystem, and supporting small entrepreneurs is a crucial part of this. From thousands of smallholder farmers, suppliers, and small retailers, also to our communities, we improve livelihoods and increase access to perspectives, so we can all grow together. What does productive inclusion mean, you may be asking.
Retailers, also to our communities, we improve livelihoods and increase access to perspectives, so we can all grow together. What does productive inclusion mean, you may be asking. It means the sustainable inclusion of people who are in a situation of social or economic vulnerability in the market through entrepreneurship or through work opportunities. Micro and small-sized businesses play a critical role in the development of our communities, as we know. They generate employment, they provide vital services. They contributed to innovation as well. Although 30% of Brazilians are considered entrepreneurs, we see that less than 10% are operating for more than three years. That means that their survival rate is very low.
These micro and small entrepreneurs, they are unprepared, as we saw, in relation to management, to starting, with financial education, planning, production, organizational structure, marketing, technology, among other issues. Contributed to innovation as well. Although 30% of Brazilians are considered entrepreneurs, we see that less than 10% are operating for more than three years. That means that their survival rate is very low. These micro and small entrepreneurs, they are unprepared, as we saw, in relation to management, to starting, with financial education, planning, production, organizational structure, marketing, technology, among other issues. How do we work with VOA? What's the idea?
We know that to sustain our business and also to build these inclusive and thriving communities, we have this key role to play to support the development, to support the growth of these small entrepreneurs by providing skills, by providing training, mentorship, opportunities. How do we work with VOA? What's the idea? We know that to sustain our business and also to build these inclusive and thriving communities, we have this key role to play to support the development, to support the growth of these small entrepreneurs by providing skills, by providing training, mentorship, opportunities to scale, to access, to have access to resources, access to technology. We are enabling the productive inclusion by providing these tools that the small and micro entrepreneurs need, and also a platform that connects our ecosystem and our communities. That's why we launched this new program.
Opportunities to scale, to access, to have access to resources, access to technology. We are enabling the productive inclusion by providing these tools that the small and micro entrepreneurs need, and also a platform that connects our ecosystem and our communities. That's why we launched this new program. We launched Bora, that's our new productive inclusion program, and it has three main pillars. Pillar number one, capabilities. Training and skilling, courses, tools to grow the business or to find a job. Pillar number two, financial empowerment. We are giving financial support such as BEES points, microcredit, scholarship. Pillar number three, connections. Exploring our ecosystem, connecting the entrepreneurs to each other, connecting them to trained people.
Training and skilling, courses, tools to grow the business or to find a job. Pillar number two, financial empowerment. We are giving financial support such as BEES points, microcredit, scholarship. Pillar number three, connections. Exploring our ecosystem, connecting the entrepreneurs to each other, connecting them to trained people, to suppliers. We'll soon launch our online platform to connect all these people and our ecosystem. That's gonna be the main change. To explain, to give an idea of what it's gonna look like, it's like a one-stop shop for productive inclusion. We're gonna bring together all the different links in the chain to make a difference. Here you can see some pictures of the people that we already started training with our partner, Ana Fontes from RME, some of you may know.
Our objective is to impact 5 million people in the next 10 years, as I mentioned. Here you can see some pictures of the people that we already started training with our partner, Ana Fontes from RME, some of you may know. Our objective is to impact 5 million people in the next 10 years, as I mentioned. There are already projects ongoing that are already reaching 50,000 people around Brazil. We call it pilots, but they are really big pilots this year. They have different formats to test the best models, to test the populations, the solutions for later scale-up, as you can see here in this slide. Productive inclusion is not something new to us.
That's just a new name that we're giving. We already worked with productive inclusion, for instance, in Maués, in the Amazon, where we have Guaraná Antarctica, and we have a farm there since 1971, where we developed sustainable communities for growing guaraná with great social and environmental positive impact. We also support small farmers all over Brazil. We help our POCs with BEES Bank. We empower women with various program to us.
We also support small farmers all over Brazil, we help our POCs with BEES Bank. We empower women with various programs such as the latest with Stella Artois and the chefs. It's not something new to us. Productive inclusion is also connected to other social programs that we have and we have been working on for a long time. Such as the first that I'm gonna share with you here is VOA. It's our management and support for NGOs, supporting also the people. We have this also with recycling cooperatives, as Rodrigo has mentioned. We have this also with clean water. We have this with food insecurity and hunger in Brazil and Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay. It's something that we work across our zone.
Let's talk now. NGOs supporting also the people, and we have this also with recycling cooperatives, as Rodrigo has mentioned. We have this also with clean water. We have this with food insecurity and hunger in Brazil and Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay. It's something that we work across our zone. Let's talk now about VOA. Since 2017, we support our countries with our volunteering programs. In Brazil, the program is called VOA. We have it as well in Argentina; it's called Valor, and Alas in Chile. Our leaders, we have more than 1,000 mentors across these countries. They donated 10,000 hours already to help NGOs have an even greater impact. They help with management. They help with lessons, tools, and in return, they
Our leaders, we have more than 1,000 mentors across these countries. They donated 10,000 hours already to help NGOs have an even greater impact. They help with management. They help with lessons, tools, and in return, they also learn the reality of these communities that are very vulnerable, and they develop empathy. It's a shared growth, as I mentioned in the beginning. Our program already impacted more than 10 million people since the beginning. That's the population that's benefited from the NGOs. We have over 400 NGOs. Here in the slide, you can see some examples of the NGOs that we have been working with. There are many, many others.
Here you can see some images reflecting this work that we do in the NGOs and the communities, all the activities that we have there. I'd like to say that VOA is the biggest corporate volunteering program in Brazil, perhaps also in Latin America. It's very good. That's not only about great numbers, big numbers in VOA, but also the difference that we make in practice. The management lessons and the tools that the NGOs learn, they helped increase their results. Just giving you one information here, the NGOs engaged in the program, they reached three times more the results of the year before, after they completed one year of the program. These are great results of impact.
I would like to share a video with a story from one organization that's part of VOA. Make in practice. The management lessons and the tools that the NGOs learn, they helped increase their results. Just giving you one information here, the NGOs engaged in the program, they reached three times more the results of the year before after they completed one year of the program. These are great results of impact. I would like to share a video with a story from one organization that's part of VOA. Really nice. Now let's talk about water. Three out of ten people in the whole world don't have access to clean water. You heard from Rodrigo, water is part of what we are, water is part of what we do at Ambev.
That means this number, it means that 2 billion people in the world don't have access to clean water. Now let's talk about water. Three out of 10 people in the whole world don't have access to clean water. You heard from Rodrigo, water is part of what we are, water is part of what we do at Ambev. That means, this number, it means that 2 billion people in the world don't have access to clean water. From these 2 billion people, 30 million of them are Brazilians. That's why AMA exists. AMA helps give clean water access to Brazilians in need. We launched the project in the beginning of 2017, so five years ago, and it's our first social business together with Yunus Social Business.
AMA is a mineral water sold in bottles and also we have now in cans that direct 100% of its profits to clean water projects in Brazil. How does it work? We use our structure, we use our sales, AMA helps give clean water access to Brazilians in need. We launched the project in the beginning of 2017, so five years ago, and it's our first social business, together with Yunus Social Business. AMA is a mineral water sold in bottles and also we have now in cans that direct 100% of its profits to clean water projects in Brazil. How does it work? We use our structure, we use our sales, our marketing, our logistics and supply to create a product that was born with this single purpose to give sustainable water access to people in need.
Our objective is to reach 1 million people by 2025. I'm very happy to share that we are on track for this. As a social business, AMA has a concept of full transparency. We have a website, that's ambev.com.br/ama, that reports in real time the profits made from the sales, the location of the projects, the people that receive the water access, and we also open for everyone how AMA's profit is generated, how much is spent with marketing, logistics, supply, et cetera. Everything is validated by KPMG. We are celebrating now, as I mentioned, five years of AMA launch. Full transparency.
We have a website, that's ambev.com.br/ama, that reports in real time the profits made from the sales, the location of the projects, the people that receive the water access, and we also open for everyone how AMA's profit is generated, how much is spent with marketing, logistics, supply, et cetera. Everything is validated by KPMG. We are celebrating now, as I mentioned, five years of AMA launch. In this slide, you can see that we had many achievements. We made more than $2 million in profits, and this profit was directed to water access projects to more than 500,000 people in Brazil in more than 100 communities in the Northeast, in the Amazon.
We made more than $2 million in profits, and this profit was directed to water access projects to more than 500,000 people in Brazil in more than 100 communities in the Northeast, in the Amazon, and now also in vulnerable areas in urban outskirts. It's a different project, it's a different concept, and it's not only water. It's interesting to share with you from our experience and also from the research that we have, the communities that received water access, they improved health indicators as well, such as reduction of diarrhea. We have children going more to school. The attendance rates increased. The women have more time for other activities, as they are usually the ones in charge of the task of collecting water in the remote areas.
It's much, much more than just water. Therefore also AMA helps with health education, it helps with gender equality, it helps with reducing inequalities. I should also mention that we have, since 2021 in Bolivia, we have a similar project. It's called Somos Água, and next year I'll have more results here to share with you about how we are changing the lives in those communities. Another topic that's connected to social impact are people in food insecurity. We have over 800 million in the world in a situation of food insecurity, and we do have a key role here to help. According to the United Nations, all the hunger in the world could be solved if we didn't have so much food waste. We have been working on this in Argentina in the past years.
Now we are using our ecosystem to expand the use of barley, that's what we do in Argentina, as a super food to local communities with a project, a product that's called Gauchada. This year, using all the learnings that we had in Argentina and also all the learnings that we have from our humanitarian actions during the pandemic, we partner through BEES with Comida Invisível, that's a Brazilian startup, to mobilize our clients and to avoid the waste.
This year, using all the learnings that we had in Argentina and also all the learnings that we have from our humanitarian actions during the pandemic, we partner through BEES with Comida Invisível, that's a Brazilian startup, to mobilize our clients and to avoid the waste. We are collecting the food that's not sold in the day from the box, and we are distributing it in the communities using our footprint and our logistics. Really using our skills to scale up the project. We already distributed food to more than 8,000 people in Rio de Janeiro this year, and we have the potential.
We already distributed food to more than 8,000 people in Rio de Janeiro this year, and we have the potential to get more than 500 tons of food per month in donations. We would have the potential of feeding 1 million people with the project and with the partnerships. Really helpful, really happy to share this project, and I think it has a huge potential. Let's now talk about another priority inside our social agenda, diversity and inclusion.
I'll start by saying that we have a consistent journey that started five years ago and that has been evolving together with our cultural evolution. That's a work that we do. I'm from corporate affairs, but we do this together with the people area and the entire company. We are working to champion diversity, to champion equity and inclusion at the highest levels of the company. As a company of owners, that's what we are, we are all responsible for D&I, and that starts from the top. A more diverse company is also very important to have more innovation, more creativity, to connect with our consumers and also to drive business performance in the very diverse countries that we operate in South America, right? We started. How is our journey comprised?
We started with awareness, with literacy, so better understanding, better knowing our context, better knowing our challenges and understanding the situation. After that, we made commitments to then get a more diverse team with real representativeness of America, right? Then we go to the next step, that's equity, having affirmative actions to really leveling the playing field. The last step in the journey, perhaps, is inclusion, because it's the most difficult one, and that's where our people can really be authentic. They can really be themselves, they can have a sense of belonging, and that's what's gonna.
Then we go to the next step, that's equity, having affirmative actions to really leveling the playing field. The last step in the journey, perhaps, is inclusion, because it's the most difficult one, and that's where our people can really be authentic. They can really be themselves, they can have a sense of belonging, and that's what's gonna drive results at the end. Let's go through the phases. Our phase one started with the creation of our ERGs, our employee resource groups. They helped us to develop the trainings, for instance, to talk about diversity within the company, equality, inclusion with our colleagues to raise the literacy, and also helped with the identification, the trainings that we implemented all over the zone on unconscious biases, on respect, on the differences. That's what we call the foundation phase number one.
In phase 2, we defined our affirmative actions to level the playing field, as I mentioned. We made commitments. We made commitments about gender, we made commitments about race, and also we improved our policies, our internal and external policies. Then we launched in the same context our mental health guidelines and also implemented many actions and many benefits to our people connected to that. In the next slide, we see phase 3. That's where we are right now. We are in phase 3, where we are expanding our journey.
We already have a strong pipeline of diverse talents that we put in the company in the past years, and our challenge now and where we are now concentrating our efforts is on the development, preparation of our talents for promotion, for instance, with mentoring programs, development programs, and other tools. We are also engaging our ecosystem of suppliers, consumers, communities because then we can increase the influence that we have in the whole value chain. Together with our ERGs, groups, and also our external D&I committee that we form, we created, we agreed on our commitments on D&I.
Together with our ERGs, our groups, and also our external D&I committee that we form, we created, we agreed on our commitments on D&I. Let's start talking about gender commitments. We made a commitment to achieve 50/50 in hirings, external hirings. We made a commitment to reduce female turnover and also to prepare our female talents for senior leadership promotion. I'm happy to share that the results from 2021 were very impressive. We improved to 45% of women in external hiring, so almost 50% we're gonna get there. The female turnover is already almost the same as our male turnover, so really we reduced our female turnover. We reached our commitment of having 50% of our pool of movers, that is people that are ready for promotion, represented by female leadership. All this leading to all-time high representation.
Now we have 36.7% of female leadership. That's in 2021, and the numbers for 2022 are gonna be even better. Almost the same as our male turnover, so really we reduced our female turnover. We reached our commitment of having 50% of our pool of movers, that is people that are ready for promotion, represented by female leadership. All this leading to all-time high representation. Now we have 36.7% of female leadership. That's in 2021, and the numbers for 2022 are gonna be even better. We believe that's gonna make the difference and drive performance for the company.
We truly know that, and I truly know that that's still not enough, but the numbers, they show us that we are getting better and better, and this demonstrates that we are in the right way. That's what's important here, be in the right direction, be in the right way. We believe that that's gonna make the difference and drive performance for the company. We truly know that, and I truly know that that's still not enough, but the numbers, they show us that we are getting better and better, and this demonstrates that we are in the right way. That's what's important here, be in the right direction, be in the right way. In the round table that we're gonna have shortly, you will also hear from diversity in our board of directors.
Now let's talk about our racial commitments. Let's first watch a video that we have about our journey, and then I'll explain to you our commitments.
Quando falamos de liderança, qual imagem vem na sua cabeça? As estatísticas não mentem. Menos de 5% das lideranças no mercado de trabalho são negras.
Os processos de transformação, de mudança são longos, às vezes doloridos, mas necessários. É a gente aqui na Ambev, né, com muito senso de urgência, com senso de responsabilidade também, né, tá buscando cada vez mais fazer a inclusão de profissionais negros, não só na nossa empresa, como no nosso ecossistema como um todo.
A diversidade racial na Ambev, ela foi acelerada pela evolução cultural, por essa jornada que a gente vem fazendo. A gente decidiu cair pra dentro pra entender quais eram as barreiras que tavam impedindo da gente trazer os talentos diversos do mercado.
Afinal, se queríamos uma nova realidade, tínhamos que nos movimentar e agir diferente.
Os compromissos raciais da Ambev são divididos em três blocos principais. O primeiro deles é representatividade, onde a gente tem como um dos principais compromissos contratar e promover lideranças negras.
Impedindo a gente de trazer os talentos diversos do mercado.
Afinal, se queríamos uma nova realidade, tínhamos que nos movimentar e agir diferente.
Os compromissos raciais da Ambev são divididos em três blocos principais. O primeiro deles é representatividade, onde a gente tem como um dos principais compromissos contratar e promover lideranças negras.
O segundo bloco é sobre conscientização da pauta racial, onde a gente chama atenção aqui pro BOF, que é o nosso grupo de afinidade, que tem mais de 700 voluntários. O terceiro deles é o bloco de ecossistema, onde a gente quer levar a nossa pauta pra além dos muros da Ambev.
Ambev construiu um comitê da diversidade e pra isso buscou 4 especialistas externos. Ele não foi restrito a esses especialistas externos. Esse comitê ganhou diversidade porque a alta liderança da Ambev faz parte. O mais importante, representantes também do grupo de afinidade racial da empresa.
A gente desenvolveu iniciativas pra cada uma das etapas da jornada.
Especialistas externos. Ele não foi restrito a esses especialistas externos. Esse comitê ganhou diversidade, porque a alta liderança da Ambev faz parte. O mais importante, representantes também do grupo de afinidade racial, da empresa.
A gente desenvolveu iniciativas pra cada uma das etapas da jornada, como o programa de estágio, o programa de trainee pra recrutamento e seleção, mas também o Dàgbá, que desenvolve lideranças negras que já estão na companhia pra acelerar a carreira desses profissionais. Além dessas iniciativas pra público interno, a gente também teve um olhar muito especial pros nossos fornecedores liderados por pessoas negras.
Oportunidade muda tudo.
Durante todo o processo, eu fui acompanhada por uma consultoria de diversidade, em que me ajudava em cada etapa a entender o que iria acontecer, a estudar, a me desenvolver. Eu atuo dentro de um programa que dá a oportunidade de pessoas como eu mostrarem o seu talento pra companhia. Dàgbá, pra mim, é muito mais do que um programa de aceleração de carreiras. Dàgbá, pra mim, é a certeza de que a Ambev entendeu o seu papel na sociedade e está fazendo uma mudança real em prol da equidade.
De lá pra cá, o nosso sonho grande tem sido elevar a representatividade e equidade no nosso ecossistema. A ideia é exponencializar as oportunidades que os nossos talentos negros possam ter e mudar as estatísticas.
São 14 milhões de afroempreendedores no Brasil, que impactam diretamente 70 milhões de pessoas, né, porque os negros têm uma média de 2.5 filhos. Ou seja, nós estamos falando em impactar um terço do Brasil.
Se queremos um futuro melhor, precisamos nos mover juntos e estamos dispostos a ampliar e fortalecer nossas ações.
Ao mesmo tempo que a gente sabe que ainda tem muita coisa a ser feita, a gente tem
Impactam diretamente 70 milhões de pessoas, né, porque os negros têm uma média de 2.5 filhos. Ou seja, nós estamos falando em impactar um terço do Brasil.
Se queremos um futuro melhor, precisamos nos mover juntos e estamos dispostos a ampliar e fortalecer nossas ações.
Ao mesmo tempo que a gente sabe que ainda tem muita coisa a ser feita, a gente tem muito orgulho dos resultados até agora. De ter conseguido contratar tantas lideranças negras, ter um ambiente cada vez mais inclusivo pras pessoas. De a gente conseguir desenvolver esses talentos dentro de casa também, pra que possam ocupar posições cada vez mais de alta liderança. E também pra gente ter uma base de fornecedores mais diversa, pra gente conseguir promover e incentivar a equidade em todo o nosso ecossistema.
Tudo isso rompendo as barreiras invisíveis e fazendo com que a gente tenha um futuro com cada vez mais razões pra brindar. Promover e incentivar a equidade em todo o nosso ecossistema. Tudo isso rompendo as barreiras invisíveis e fazendo com que a gente tenha um futuro com cada vez mais razões pra brindar.
We made bold racial equity commitments in 2020 and we have in our website, you can see we have full transparency on our 13 objectives and their status. I won't go through all of them, but I would like to mention that, our commitment to hire more than 200 new Black leaders, which seemed challenging at first, but we closed 2021 with over 500 Black leaders hired. It was a big success. Our commitment to hire 60 Black trainees, and to roll out our internship programs for Black talents were a success. Both of them already met. I would like to mention the Black talents were here, right? They were there. We were just looking in the wrong places. Now, we can see where they are. We improved our processes.
We also saw our unconscious biases and barriers that prevented them from joining our company. We have these talents inside our company. Trainees, and to roll out our internship programs for Black talents were a success. Both of them already met. Also, I would like to mention the Black talents were here, right? They were there. We were just looking in the wrong places. Now, we can see where they are. We improved our processes. We also saw our unconscious biases and barriers that prevented them from joining our company. We have these talents inside our company. The racial equity challenge in Brazil, as we know, is structural. Our challenge goes much further than our company walls. We have a whole pillar that's dedicated to the promotion of racial equity in our ecosystem.
Including raising awareness, anti-racist trainings that we already made for over 20,000 suppliers and the diversity of our partners. In that, I'd like to mention also that we committed to register 200 new Black suppliers in 2021 and to double the spend with the suppliers in 2022. We over-delivered this target, registering over 500 Black suppliers last year, so very happy to share that with you. Also the commitment that we had to spend was $20 million with the suppliers this year.
We over-delivered this target, registering over 500 Black suppliers last year, so very happy to share that with you. Also the commitment that we had to spend was $20 million with the suppliers this year, and we also already reached this number last month. For those of you. Now I make an invitation to you, those of you that are interested in promoting racial equity inside your companies, inside your ecosystems. If you are located in Brazil, in this slide you can see the QR code on the screen. You'll find a book that we organized with all the information on all these over 500 Black suppliers that we registered at Ambev and that you can also use as suppliers for your companies as they are mainly services, communications, marketing, catering, advisory companies.
I will be also very happy to connect with you on an individual basis afterwards if you are interested to share more details on our journey with you and also to learn from you and see how we can help your companies. As they are mainly services, communications, marketing, catering, advisory companies, and I will be also very happy to connect with you on an individual basis afterwards if you are interested to share more details on our journey with you and also to learn from you and see how we can help. Because this is certainly a collective effort and that's where we'll make a difference, right? No company will be able to solve it alone. Our third social priority, Smart Drinking, I will cover soon in our roundtable with our board of directors.
Now I'd like to close. I included here in this slide, you can see some of the awards and some of the recognitions that our ESG platform received in the past year and also some of them that are really worth celebrating. JJ mentioned that we received the best company in ESG in the food and beverages sector for Valor, for Exame, for Revista Época, and we are really proud of these results. Also really proud to see our people index. You can see here the curve.
You can see here the curve. We improved 5 percentage points and it's now in 90%, the engagement percentage of our people. Really happy with these results. I close by saying that I believe that our future is inclusive, it's nature-based, and it's local, and we are fully committed to improving and sharing value with our communities. We are proud to lead the future in that way, and I look ahead to 2023 and beyond with our renewed vision, with a new focus to create a future with more cheers and also a lot of positive impact. Thank you very much. Now I ask Tati, over to you, Tati.
Thank you, Carla. Social initiatives are one of the big bets for us. Its impact in people's lives makes the difference for generations to come. With that, we'll leave you for a five-minute break, but before that, we have prepared a video about our ethics journey. Remember, questions will come through only our platform for the sell- side analyst. See you in five.
Only our platform for the sell- side analyst. See you in five.
It's always necessary to believe the dream is possible.
Hope is telling the truth, is taking action.
It's always necessary to believe the dream is possible.
Hope is telling the truth, is taking action.
Series of corruption allegations.
Confessed again to the alleged corruption scheme.
The story is shocking.
Eu? Eu sou a ética. Sou a primeira a chegar nas negociações e a única que não pode ser negociada. Não existe um dia que você não pense em mim. Afinal, estou em cada lugar da Ambev.
O respeito é a base de todas as nossas relações, dentro e fora da companhia.
Você sabe, eu não posso ser ignorada. Porque eu sou aquela que está com quem faz o certo e não pega atalhos. Quando você presenciar algo errado, sabe quem estará do seu lado? Eu mesma. Eu prometo, juntos podemos ir muito longe, mais longe ainda do que já chegamos. Porque eu sou a garantia de um futuro com mais razões para brindar. Se há algo errado, sabe quem estará do seu lado? Eu mesma. Eu prometo, juntos podemos ir muito longe, mais longe ainda do que já chegamos. Porque eu sou a garantia de um futuro com mais razões para brindar. Eu sou a ética e aqui na Ambev você vem comigo.
Hello, and welcome back to our ESG update. Next round will be a round table with our board members. I would like to invite our Vice President, Letícia , who I'm very, very fan.
Thank you, Tati. Always very kind.
Over to you, Letícia .
Thank you. Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening, everyone. It's a pleasure to join Jean, Carla, and Rodrigo for this event as we discuss important initiatives and goals of our company. I'm here today to conduct a panel about governance. Before I introduce our guests. Thank you, Tati. Always very kind.
Over to you, Letícia .
Thank you. Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening, everyone. It's a pleasure to join Jean, Carla, and Rodrigo for this event as we discuss important initiatives and goals of our company. I'm here today to conduct a panel about governance. Before I introduce our guests, I'd like to share a brief summary of our management structure, especially at our board level. Ambev's board is composed by 11 directors, of which two are women and three are independent members. The current structure is fairly new as Claudia Woods, Fernando Tennenbaum, Fábio Barbosa, and Lia Matos were elected a 1.5 year ago. Ambev also holds a permanent fiscal council, which fulfills all requirements not only for Brazilian law, but also according to SOX applicable regulation to foreign companies listed in U.S. market.
It's formed by three effective members and being two men and one woman, sorry, and three alternates. In terms of board advisory, a few changes have recently occurred. Ambev used to have two committees assisting the board and its decision-making process. The Operations, Finance, and Remuneration Committee and the Related Parties and Antitrust Conduct Committee. As part of our review, we have approved a change in the board structure and composition and reshaped such committees. These committees have now turned into three committees. The Operations and Finance Committee to oversee strategic and financial matters alongside the board. The People Committee to be responsible not only for all compensation matter, but also for D&I initiatives. The Governance Committee to advise the board in all Ambev's governance agenda, including ESG, related parties transactions, antitrust conducts, cybersecurity, and data privacy.
We believe this new structure is compatible with the company's strategy and will complement the management's knowledge with deeper discussions and improved oversight of all these important So for D&I initiatives and the governance committee to advise the board in all Ambev's governance agenda, including ESG, related parties transactions, antitrust conducts, cybersecurity, and data privacy. We believe this new structure is compatible with the company's strategy and will complement the management's knowledge with deeper discussions and improved oversight of all these important matters. Now, let's move to our conversation with Fábio Barbosa, Lia Matos, and Claudia Woods. Claudia, Fábio, and Lia, please welcome to the stage. Carla, who also talked to you about social, is joining us for this panel. Thank you all for being here. With no further ado, I will pass the word to you for a brief introduction of yourselves.
Thank you very much. Thanks for the invitation. It's a pleasure being here. As Letícia mentioned, I was elected a 1.5 year a go. I mean, I have made my career in finance, in banking, but I have been for 24-
For this panel. Thank you all for being here. With no further ado, I will pass the word to you, for a brief introduction of yourselves.
Thank you very much. Thanks for the invitation. It's a pleasure being here. As Letícia mentioned, I was elected a 1.5 year a go. I mean, I have made my career in finance, in banking, but I have been for 24 years or more talking about ESG. To me, it's a pleasure to see the engagement of Ambev on that and to discuss this in this short meeting we're gonna have here. Thank you.
Thank you, Fábio. Claudia?
Hi, Letícia . Hello, everybody. It's a pleasure to be here. I'm Claudia Woods. I joined the board together with Fábio Barbosa, and I've had the privilege of joining this amazing team the 1.5 year . My career has basically been in tech and digital from day one. I started off very early back in 1998 trying my first startup, and still at it till this day. It's been great to actually discuss on the board and have space to discuss Ambev's trajectory, specifically with innovation and diversity.
Hi. Good morning, afternoon, good evening, everyone. Thank you so much for the invitation as well. I also joined the board a 1.5 year ago with Fábio and Claudia. I'm a partner of StoneCo, which is a Brazilian fintech and software provider. I've been with the company since 2015 leading strategy, and I'm really passionate
trajectory, specifically with innovation and diversity.
Hi. Good morning, afternoon, good evening, everyone I. Thank you so much for the invitation as well. I also joined the board a 1.5 year ago with Fábio and Claudia. I'm a partenr of StoneCo, which is a Brazilian fintech and software provider. I've been with the company since 2015 leading strategy, and I'm really passionate about thinking the different ways in which we can use technologies to support small and medium businesses. I think it's been fascinating to see within the transformation journey of Ambev the many ways in which it can continue to impact small and medium businesses within this transformation for the many years to come. Excited to be here.
Thank you, and it's a privilege to have you three at our Board. I can see the contributions with your different backgrounds of Ambev, the many ways in which it can continue to impact small and medium businesses within this transformation for the many years to come. Excited to be here. Thank you, and it's a privilege to have you three at our Board. I can see the contributions with your different backgrounds and skills. I would like to hear from your side, what can you share with us about the Board's general performance and what you have seen in this period that you have been with us?
I'll start here. I think the board has a diversity which is very good, especially, I mean, the three of us joining has been very good, not only women, but different backgrounds that we have. I always stress that a good board or a good group of people is always made by different people with different perceptions, different points of view. What I see here at the board now is, as Claudia, Lia were presenting themselves, they have different backgrounds, myself, and that I think is very good for good decisions, for good diagnosis and so on. That impacted me because, from outside, I had an impression of being much, let's say similar people working together, and now we have this difference, and therefore we can talk about different themes, different perspectives, different opinions, and different trends.
I think this is very good for a board.
Thank you. Lia, would you like to share your thoughts?
Sure, yes. Agree with everything Fábio mentioned. I would add a couple of additional points that really called my attention. Some of them might seem like housekeeping, which is the structure of our meetings. In every single moment that we are together, there's a huge focus on looking internally at ourselves, so making sure that we hold ourselves accountable, be it for OKRs, be it for the goals for every single one of the markets, but also always bringing an external perspective. In addition to the diverse group and the diverse conversations, there's always an interest in bringing in an expert, be it in technology, be it in economy, be it on the structure of our meetings.
In every single moment that we are together, there's a huge focus on looking internally at ourselves, so making sure that we hold ourselves accountable, be it for OKRs, be it for the goals for every single one of the markets, but also always bringing an external perspective. In addition to the diverse group and the diverse conversations, there's always an interest in bringing in an expert, be it in technology, be it in economy, be it understanding the dynamics of each of the countries that the company operates in, which are all going through extremely, you know, turbulent times from an economic level.
This openness not only to have a diverse group but also to make sure that we are not, you know, we're not biased with our own internal opinions, and having somebody from the outside is something that really called my attention and I think adds a ton of value. For sure, every time I walk away from one of those meetings, I definitely not only contributed, but I walk away with much more than I contributed. Not only to have a diverse group, but also to make sure that we are not, you know, we're not biased with our own internal opinions, and having somebody from the outside is something that really called my attention and I think adds a ton of value.
For sure, every time I walk away from one of those meetings, I definitely not only contributed, but I walk away with much more than I contributed, and that's an amazing feeling.
I think the only thing that I would add is how amazing it has been to see that at the governance level also this new lens into the transformation that the whole company's going through has been really present, right? I think an example is, you know, we created a working group to really look in a more focused way into all of the opportunities and all of the challenges that this transformation imposes to the company. I think that's an example of how, you know, even at the governance level or
More strongly even at the governance level that this whole transformation and the new lens into the business has been really applied.
Thank you, Lia. Fábio, building on this, could you comment on the board supervision and oversight on the ESG agenda?
Transformation imposes on the company. I think that's an example of how, you know, even more strongly at the governance level that this whole transformation and the new lens into the business has been really applied.
Thank you, Lia. Fábio, building on this, could you comment on the board supervision and oversight on the ESG agenda?
I think, I mean, the second thing impresses me very much is that there are KPIs which is very much by the way, the culture of this company, being brought now to ESG as well. I think it helps the board to understand how things are being done in alignment with what had been decided. I think that is very, very good, and we see initiatives in every single field. We can talk about diversity, which we saw a moment ago, talk about environmental as impacted here at the beginning of the presentation, how much is being done in every aspect.
Wherever you touch, there is something done, which is the guidance of the board, which is to make sure that you are anticipating trends which are coming inevitably with the new generation, with the new concerns about environmental issues, new concerns about social inclusion and so on. This has been extremely positive. Just one comment before I pass on to Carla to expand a little bit on something else. I think in Ambev, I see something which is rare. It's difficult to see in other companies, which is to have ESG as part of the strategy, not as a side initiative, which goes into HR and is hidden somewhere, and you do it complementary. In order to, I mean, in order to make sure that we are paying attention to issues that society are.
In Ambev, I see something which is rare. It's difficult to see in other companies, which is to have ESG as part of the strategy, not as a side initiative, which goes into HR and is hidden somewhere, and you do it complementary. I mean, in order to make sure that we are paying attention to issues that society is talking about. That's not the issue at Ambev. We see much more this is engaged on the strategy on what are we gonna do with packaging, what are we gonna do with water, inclusion, so on, part of the strategy. This is very good. Inclusive, the courageous, the.
How brave the company is to discuss issues like responsible consumption or talking about the drinking and so on, which is a very important issue and very delicate. I think I'll ask Carla to complement this a little bit. Carla, please.
Thank you, Fábio. I was with the board around 10 days ago to share our strategy and to share also our programs and results on Smart Drinking, responsible drinking, and also moderation. I'd like to share with you that we have, since the beginning of Ambev, that's a very strong commitment that we have to lead the agenda. We know we have a responsibility to lead this agenda and to make a difference, and we work on three pillars mainly. First, promoting the prevention of underage consumption. We, for instance, supported the Criminalization Act for prohibition of sale to minors. We have a lot of efforts on the awareness and all the law enforcement to avoid sale of alcohol to minors. Second pillar is on road safety, and that we work with a mindset of partnerships, of engagement, for instance, the government.
We have a partnership with the federal government, and this became a public policy, the prevention of underage consumption. We, for instance, supported the Criminalization Act for prohibition of sale to minors. We have a lot of efforts on the awareness and all the law enforcement to avoid sale of alcohol to minors. Second pillar is on road safety, and that we work with a mindset of partnerships, of engagement, for instance, the government. We have a partnership with the federal government, and this became a public policy on road safety and prevention of drink and drive, but also being part of a broader solution, helping with data, helping with enforcement as well, innovation and technology. The third, and perhaps the most challenging one is moderation. We know that moderation is something that's related to an individual choice.
We help our consumers, we empower our consumers through choice. For instance, giving options on non-alcoholic beverages, low alcoholic beverages. I can mention Bud Zero, that was a recent innovation. Michelob ULTRA that has a lower alcohol content. Really giving the choice for the consumer and also changing behaviors through social norms. Campaigns that we have with the consumers to show that moderation is good, to show that they can better know their limits, know when to stop, drink water, to eat before drinking. Also engaging, connecting with the city pilots that we have, the projects also with health and with the government. These are the three main focuses that we have, and we are working now also, we can better know the limits, know when to stop, drink water, to eat before drinking.
also engaging and connecting with the city pilots that we have, the projects also with health and with the government. These are the three main focuses that we have, and we are working now also with a lot of innovation. We launched recently our Smart Drinking Innovation Lab. You will hear more from it soon. We have a lot of things that are under discussion, such as using technology and devices to help the consumer to know the alcohol content and the blood levels and so on. Strong commitment, a lot of results, a lot more to come.
Thank you, Carla. That's exactly, it's a good example. We are not gonna explore all of them, but she's talking specifically about Smart Drinking and so on.
Solutions such as using technology and devices to help the consumer to know the alcohol content and the blood levels and so on. Strong commitment, a lot of results, a lot more to come.
Thank you, Carla. That's exactly. It's a good example. We are not gonna explore all of them, but she's talking specifically about Smart Drinking and so on. That's the kind of attitude that I see at Ambev in every single aspect of ESG that we may bring up. There is always this commitment, these KPIs, this clear north and clear decision in order to reach those goals. It was very good. Letícia , back to you.
Thank you, Fábio. You mentioned something that is really important for us, which is having the objectives really clear, being on social, environmental, or governance.
This clear north and clear decision in order to reach those goals. It was very good. Letícia , back to you.
Thank you, Fábio. You mentioned something that is really important for us, which is having the objectives really clear, being on social, environmental, or governance. As Carla mentioned in our regular update to the board, we can see that we cover many of the aspects, our gaps, and we also focus on what is linked to our culture and to what we are. On that, also, Claudia, I'd like to hear from you.
We have been hearing the discussion on diversity, not only in gender but also in other aspects, being at investors, regulators, or societal level. Could you please share with us your thoughts and, more specifically, your thoughts on Ambev's evolution on this, on the board, what have you seen or what's still to be done? Please.
Sure. My favorite topic, so this is an easy one. Well, I'd like to start off by the fact that there's actually four women on this stage, you know, two at the board level and two at the very senior level of management. It wasn't on purpose, right? I think when I first started getting invites to boards, my first question was always, "Are you inviting me just because I'm a female?" To be very honest, I think the very first one, the answer, they would never admit it, but deep down inside, there was this very imminent need for companies to really start demonstrating what they theoretically believe, right?
They would never admit it, but deep down inside, there was this very imminent need for companies to really start demonstrating what they theoretically believe, right? When I joined the Ambev board, to join together with Lia was already a huge privilege because we know how hard it is not only to talk about technology and everything that is in this, you know, new world in a traditional board, but even to do that by yourself is extremely difficult. The fact that we are present on the board at every single meeting, you know, Lia and myself, and Letícia's always there.
We have the privilege of having Carla with us quite often. For me, that's the very first thing I wanna mention. Even though regulation in Brazil is still far behind, there is an aggressive proposal now at the B3 level to actually regulate diversity on boards. Ambev did not wait for that, right? We took that step. We took it in a way that was not just because we were women. To the point that Fábio mentioned earlier about the diverse group, we're both women, yes, but we both also represent the digital tech part in the group. It's an amazing combination to not only have the title of having females, but actually having that fulfill the diversity in the group. With that in mind, I think there's several other things that call my
Ambev did not wait for that, right? We took that step. We took it in a way that was not just because we were women. To the point that Fábio mentioned earlier about the diverse group, we're both women, yes, but we both also represent the digital tech part in the group. It's an amazing combination to not only have the title of having females but actually having that fulfill the diversity in the group. With that in mind, I think there's several other things that call my attention within the diverse group.
Obviously, the combination of Dr. Victorio and Michel being full experts sitting on the board and really bringing in the expertise with the combination of us that have stepped in, you know, a 1.5 year and are starting to now become experts in the company. In the last ramp-up, obviously, it takes us some time. Having really that mixture of opinion, mixture of age, mixture of generations actually makes a very big difference, right? The last thing I'll comment, and this is very much how I think about diversity, especially when we talk about gender, is it has to be consistent, right? You know, as Fábio was saying on the ESG front, that it goes from the product to the KPI to the board meeting. On diversity, it has to be the same thing.
You can go out and do a super aggressive campaign, and you can say that you believe that women should be in the leadership, et cetera, but if your employees don't look within the company and they can't look up and see female role models, it won't work, right? At the end of the day, we know now that you really have to walk the talk, and walking the talk is about making sure that your internal leadership reflects that. Now, as Fábio was saying on the ESG front, that it goes from the product to the KPI to the board meeting. On diversity, it has to be the same thing.
You can go out and do a super aggressive campaign, and you can say that you believe that women should be in the leadership, etc., but if your employees don't look within the company and they can't look up and see female role models, it won't work, right? At the end of the day, we know now that you really have to walk the talk, and walking the talk is about making sure that your internal leadership reflects that. Not only your board, that your succession plans also reflect that. We had that discussion, I think two or three board meetings ago, where we actually looked at the succession plan for every single key position and analyzed what the diversity was behind each of those plans. In the last year, you know, I think the company made some important strides.
Carla obviously now sits with Letícia at the senior exec level. The company brought in an outside female also to lead one of the most important divisions in terms of innovation and diversity in terms of diversification of products. That, for me, Letícia, is also a very strong indication that this is not just something that we wanna talk about, right?
We don't wanna just be ahead of the game and say, "Oh, we have two female members on the board." We wanna have them at the board level. We wanna have them at the senior leadership level. We wanna have all the initiatives that Carla already mentioned today to start out early, with very diverse teams, but also make sure that our succession plans truly reflect this in a way that it's gonna be consistent and not just something that's at the board level.
That's a very good approach. While you were talking, I was recalling some conversations with Jean Jereissati a couple of years ago when he said that we should prepare women, we should prepare the less represented groups to succeed senior management in short or long term. This is something a couple of years ago when he said that we should prepare women, we should prepare the less represented groups to succeed senior management in short or long term. This is something that, as Carla also mentioned in her speech, on which we have been working a lot, and I can see the consistency. I've been with the company for 20 years, so plenty of time to see it happening.
We can see also at board level, we have our self-assessment on a yearly basis. Besides seeing what the board is doing, if we are really contributing for the long term, we can see if there we are lacking some skills or if there is something that could be improved. It was also really nice to see that we needed your skills, we needed your background, and you brought very effectively exactly what we expected. Very good. What the board is doing, if we are really contributing for the long term, we can see if there we are lacking some skills or if there is something that could be improved.
It was also really nice to see that we needed your skills, we needed your background, and you brought very effectively exactly what we expected. Very good to hear from you and to see the difference that you three are making in our board of directors.
Just to complement, Letícia, you mentioned quickly the new People Committee. This for me is yet one other important step in that sense. The board was able to look at that committee and say, "This isn't working at 100% the way that we want it to through our self-evaluation process." Immediately we made the switch. We changed some of the members. I'm on that team, on that committee, which will be great. Not only will it give us an opportunity to look at gender and other minorities, but it will also give us an ability to make sure that Ambev is moving as quickly as the market is moving.
Now that we more and more have become an innovation company, more and more a tech company, what does that actually mean for our people challenges, and how does diversity now become resignified within this new environment? I think that was not only a great example of how the board is able to self-evaluate and change, but another very strong indication of the importance of that committee and making sure that the commitments there will really be thought through. As quickly as the market is moving. Now that we more and more have become an innovation company, more and more a tech company, what does that actually mean for our people challenges, and how does diversity now become resignified within this new environment?
I think that was not only a great example of how the board is able to self-evaluate and change, but another very strong indication of the importance of that committee and making sure that the commitments there will really be sought through.
Yes. Turning to Lia. Claudia just mentioned our cultural evolution, our new challenges in terms of tech and the people we must have to help us to accomplish such challenges. If you could comment on the increasing connection with our community and ecosystem and your views on our cultural evolution, Lia.
Great. I think there's two important lenses that I would like to touch on when we think about this element of the transformation that has been going on within the company. I think the first one is how it amplifies and the different ways in which it really creates more opportunity to generate positive impact. I think the second is all of the implications that this transformation has in terms of the governance itself, right, which is the G within the ESG. I think to talk about the first one, Ambev no longer sees itself as a beverage company. Well, not only at least, right? It's becoming more and more a platform business where, you know, it better connects with sellers through BEES on one side and with consumers with Zé Delivery on the other side.
I think that this is a great example that, you know, by creating an ecosystem, you get a new level of scale and reach and access. The central theme, Ambev no longer sees itself as a beverage company. Well, not only at least, right? It's becoming more and more a platform business where, you know, it better connects with sellers through BEES on one side and with consumers with Zé Delivery on the other side. The central theme around this is innovation and technology, right?
Better using innovation and technology opens new ways to be more creative, to test new solutions and, you know, alternatives in which more positive impact can be generated. I think there are many examples that were spoken about today, both Jean and Carla, I think, gave many examples of that. At the more basic level, even within BEES, and we see with this, with the high levels of NPS of these two platforms, you know, the experience of sellers and consumers has greatly improved. There are other examples. For example, the partnership with Lemon, where we can give access to cheap energy to SMBs, for example.
By embedding Fintech in those platforms, you can really improve the digital journey within the ecosystem, and I think there's many, many other examples. I think that's one big element, right? The second one, when we talk about governance, is really about creating and putting this new lens into the topic of this transformation. I think this was a big theme in our last board meeting. We discussed a lot, for example, how do we take an already really robust risk management process and framework and create a lens of technology, digital ethics, cybersecurity. The board really monitors on a regular basis all of those dimensions. I think that, you know, the ability of the company to really evolve in enhancing this governance with the new lens has been really.
Last board meeting, we discussed a lot, for example, how do we take a already really robust risk management process and framework and create a lens of technology, digital ethics, cybersecurity. The board really monitors on a regular basis all of those dimensions. I think that, you know, the ability of the company to really evolve in enhancing this governance with the new lens has been really important.
Thank you, Lia. This connects with another question I have for you three, and then I'll start with Lia this time. We are building a company to last for more than 100 years. I'd like to ask you to, in a few words, tell us why do you think Ambev can continue to make progress and contribute to our community also in this more than 100 years? How do you see this long term?
Well, I think that has always been a characteristic of Ambev, right? A company that looks really long term. I mean, having followed the company closely for many years, it's amazing to see this transformation, you know, and within this context, it's only at the really very beginning, right? Making the first steps in how do we better use technology, better evolve to become more of a platform business. Become really a learning organization, right? I think that this has been really amazing to see.
I think that this has been really amazing to see how the company has focused a lot on becoming a learning organization. I see only as the beginning of this journey. I think there are many decades ahead in creating real, significant positive impact.
You, Fábio?
Oh, I am optimistic on that. On top of the technology that she's mentioned and stressed and digital and so on, I think Ambev sometimes it proves, as Claudia said, to be ahead of its time. Instead of waiting for regulations to come on certain aspects, for instance, the example she gave was on diversity at the board. But we also saw.
Decades ahead in creating real, significant positive impact.
You, Fábio?
Oh, I am optimistic on that. On top of the technology that she's mentioned and stressed and digital and so on, I think Ambev sometimes proves, as Claudia said, to be ahead of its time. Instead of waiting for regulations to come on certain aspects, for instance, the example she gave was on diversity at the board. But we also saw Carla talking about Smart Drinking and so on. I think being connected to its time, connected to what is coming is very important, and I see Ambev doing that. I normally like to stress Letícia hat, I mean, this new generation is bringing new values. They consume in a different way. You attract, by the way, talents on a different way. Investors are looking a different way, and that's increasing.
I normally say I cannot make any projection on economy, but I can make on demographics. Carla talking about Smart Drinking and so on. I think being connected to its time, connected to what is coming is very important, and I see Ambev doing that. I normally like to stress Letícia that I mean this new generation is bringing new values. They consume in a different way. You attract, by the way, talents on a different way. Investors are looking a different way, and that's increasing. I normally say I cannot make any projection on economy, but I can make on demographics. People are.
Every day you have someone who is getting to the consumer market, and I think Ambev is connected to that, be it on digital, be it on diversity, be it on environmental, but is above all understanding that it is strategic for the company to have ESG as part of its planning. It is not a side initiative, it's central to it. That's why I think we have a long life ahead.
Thank you. That's very important and the approach that we always keep on ESG, which is linked to our business, linked to what we believe would be the future for us to help building. Very good to hear from your thoughts. Claudia?
Letícia , for me, what really calls my attention and having, you know, the opportunity to sit on other boards and have different points of view, is the way this company has succeeded at creating an internal mechanism of innovation. It's the buzzword right now. Everybody is talking about digital transformation. Everybody is talking about internal innovation because things are changing, et cetera. It's very rare for you to see a company that has such a solid core business be able to create this internal engine that obviously directly impacts the culture, obviously shakes things up. It's not an easy thing to do.
When I look at the way this company has structured it, and when I look at the way it's set its innovation teams, be it in Z-Tech, be it in any of the initiatives up for success, that for me is what's gonna take this company another 100 years, right? It's really having solid core business be able to create this internal engine that obviously directly impacts the culture, obviously shakes things up. It's not an easy thing to do. When I look at the way this company has structured it, and when I look at the way it's set its innovation teams, be it in Z-Tech, be it in any of the initiatives up for success, that for me is what's gonna take this company another 100 years, right?
It's really having the humility to say, "Hey, you know what? The way things that we're doing today are not gonna take us 100 years from now, so we really need to find a way to innovate." It's not only innovating in the beverage business, it's really innovating in the way and how we do business. If we can keep that ability of constantly looking at ourselves and saying, "We need to change. We need to be open to change," that's gonna take us, you know, easily another 100 years. That's not only innovating in the beverage business, it's really innovating in the way and how we do business. If we can keep that ability of constantly looking at ourselves and saying, "We need to change.
We need to be open to change," that's gonna take us, you know, easily another 100 years. That's not only a product change, it's a culture change. Being able to be bold, right? Being courageous to say, "Hey, I'm gonna shake things up, and this might be hard, and I might lose people along the way." But when we look at the example of Zé Delivery during the pandemic, for me, that symbolizes how this company was ready, right? The ability that there were lots of different initiatives in place. When everything changed overnight, this company was ready to serve its new consumer in the new model.
It didn't have to start from scratch because years ago, somebody bet on that and said, "Let's bet on this new idea." If we continue to do that, it's 100, 200 years for sure, because agility is the buzzword, adaptability is the moment. Everything that we talk about today in changing times. Right? The ability that there were lots of different initiatives in place. When everything changed overnight, this company was ready to serve its new consumer in the new model. It didn't have to start from scratch because years ago, somebody bet on that and said, "Let's bet on this new idea." If we continue to do that, it's 100, 200 years for sure, because agility is the buzzword, adaptability is the moment.
Everything that we talk about today in changing times and we've proven to have that in our core, and if we continue to do it, we'll be super successful.
Thank you. It's amazing to see how aligned we all are. Lia also mentioned our learning approach as learners, so we are continuously learning to be better and how to be there. With a diverse group, we can do it better with different perspectives and approach. We have to conclude because our time is already there. It was a pleasure to have you here, to listen from you. I'm sure we have a lot to talk about still. That's it for now. Thank you so much for your contribution. Let's build a beautiful future for at least another hundred years. Thank you all.
Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you all for such an opening conversation. Now we'll go to our last session, our Q&A with our sell-side analyst.
Thank you so much for your contribution, and let's build a beautiful future for at least another hundred years. Thank you all.
Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you all for such an opening conversation. Now we'll go to our last session, our Q&A with our sell-side analyst. Before we start, I would like to invite to introduce the introduction, actually, my partner in the Investor Relations area, Mariana. I have the privilege to work with her, and she's here right next to me. Please, Mari, over to you.
Thank you, Tati, for the kind words and the partnership. Good morning, good afternoon, everyone. I'm sure this session will be a very rich moment. After all, when we approach a topic as broad as ESG, doubts may arise.
Is here right next to me. Please, Mari, over to you.
Thank you, Tati, for the kind words and the partnership. Good morning, good afternoon, everyone. I'm sure this session will be a very rich moment. After all, when we approach a topic as broad as ESG, doubts may arise. Therefore, our executive officers will answer some questions now. Let's start by inviting to the stage our CEO, Jean Jereissati, our CFO and Investor Relations Officer, Lucas Lira, and Caio Miranda, our Sustainability Director. They will join Carla and Letícia . Over to you, Tati.
Welcome, executive officers. The first question we have here is to Caio from Evercore. During our ESG update last December, you mentioned that Ambev already used 250 electric trucks with economic feasibility and plan to have 500 this year. Can we get an update on this? Are these trucks being used within this? Second question together, can you quantify how much this has helped given higher diesel costs?
Hi, everyone. Thank you very much for the invitation. Rodrigo couldn't be here with you to answer the questions.
Trucks
With economic feasibility and plan to have 500 this year. Can we get an update on this? Are these trucks being used within BEES? Second question together. Can you quantify how much this has helped given higher diesel costs?
Hi, everyone. Thank you very much for the invitation. Rodrigo couldn't be here with you to answer the questions, so this is why I'm taking his place for this. Say that really good question. It's amazing to update what we have been doing related to sustainability. This is a teamwork. We have hundreds of people in our breweries that are at our breweries in our procurement center. So going to the answer, we have now 254.
We have hundreds of people in our breweries at our breweries in our procurement center. Going to the answer, we have now 255 trucks in our operations. We struggle a little bit because of the supply chain related to the components of the trucks, especially the batteries. We are working to catch up to the 500 trucks that we have planned for 2022. I hope that we have good news by the end of the year. Many other companies struggle with the same issue. Related to if these trucks are supporting the BEES business, yes, they are also working for BEES.
Related to the savings, I cannot share the total amount because it's gonna be in our end of year results. What I can share that the savings are around 70%. That we have good news by the end of the year. Many other companies struggle with the same issue. Related to if these trucks are supporting the BEES business, yes, they are working also for BEES. Related to the savings, I cannot share the total amount because it's gonna be in our end of year results. What I can share that the savings are around 70% of the costs of diesel.
Having an electric EV save us 70% when we compare with a diesel truck.
Thank you, Caio. The next question is also for you. It is a question from Thiago Duarte with BTG on supply chain and packaging. You talked about the goal to achieve 100% returnable or made mainly from recyclable materials. Can you talk a bit more about?
Of the costs of diesel. Having an electric EV save us 70% when we compare with a diesel truck.
Thank you, Caio. The next question is also for you. It is a question from Thiago Duarte with BTG on supply chain and packaging. You talked about the goal to achieve 100% returnable or made mainly from recyclable materials. Can you talk a bit more about the bottlenecks that exist before getting there, particularly with regards to the use of plastic and PET packaging, which appears to be the most challenging material? How much additional cost and investments would be required?
In addition, can you also talk about whether this could actually represent a competitive advantage in the future, since this could become a barrier to entry in the segments and products that require greater use of plastic and PET packaging?
Okay. If I forgot a piece of the question, you can help me.
Sure
Mari. First point, the bottlenecks. I think that the biggest bottleneck nowadays is related to get the material from the market. For the getting the PET enable the circular economy around, about, the recyclable materials. We have been working with collaboration with other companies like, Coke and, Nestlé. We are also investing money in startups that helped us to enable the circular economy in communities, in buildings and, other businesses. We cannot talk about investment so far. I think that there is a lot of innovation to come in the future. These startups, they seems to
We are also investing money in startups that helped us to enable the circular economy in communities, in buildings and other businesses. We cannot talk about investment so far. I think that there's a lot of innovation to come in the future. These startups, they seems to address part of the problem that we have nowadays. I also couldn't say about a competitive advantage of being sustainable. I think that we are doing this not because of this reason. Maybe we can motivate or address part of the problem that we have nowadays. I also couldn't say about a competitive advantage of being sustainable. I think that we are doing this not because of this reason.
Maybe we can motivate the rest of the industry to join this target or this commitment. I have a huge partner for that is Jean. JJ has a target related to packaging. I think that we are in good hands to achieve our targets by 2025.
Okay. Thank you. The third question we have is from Evercore, from Gregory. Apologize for not mentioning your name before, Gregory. The question is to Lucas and Jean, please feel free to complement. Are there-
Targets by 2025.
Okay. Thank you. The third question we have is from Evercore, from Gregory. Apologize for not mentioning your name before, Gregory. The question is to Lucas and Jean, please feel free to complement. Are there any new initiatives that you would like to discuss that also provide a competitive advantage from a business perspective?
Thank you, Tati. Thank you, Gregory, for the question. From a business perspective, I'm a particularly big fan of Lemon. I think the whole notion of Ambev as a platform, working with a startup, with a great group of founders to find a more accessible, more competitive energy value proposition for our clients as part of a suite of products and services to better serve them and add value to their business so that they can grow, to me makes a lot of sense. I'm a big fan of Lemon, and I think by looking for initiatives like Lemon, and adding them to our platform, I think that could help us build a competitive advantage by offering additional services that are important that add value to our clients.
To their business so that they can grow, to me makes a lot of sense. I'm a big fan of Lemon, and I think by looking for initiatives like Lemon, and adding them to our platform, I think that could help us build a competitive advantage by offering additional services that are important that add value to our clients. To me, there's another aspect to competitive advantage which relates to people. I'm not gonna talk about any specific new initiative, but when I think of sustainability, I think of people. We've always said that people are single most important competitive advantage in this company.
When I see everything we've been doing over the last two, three decades around sustainability, to me, that says a lot because I think it allows us to show not only to our team, but to everybody that is interested in joining our team, that we mean it, we care, and if we succeed in continuing to execute our strategy, walk the talk, I think that will allow us to continue to attract better people than us and people that are gonna be as or more committed than we are today to really drive sustainability forward.
To me, sustainability as part of our corporate strategy means a lot because it connects with the team that we mean it, we care, and if we succeed in continuing to execute our strategy, walk the talk, I think that will allow us to continue to attract better people than us and people that are gonna be as or more committed than we are today to really drive sustainability forward. To me, sustainability as part of our corporate strategy means a lot because it connects with the people pipeline that we've built over the last decades and that we have to continue to build going forward. When we talk to the younger generation, sustainability is front and center in terms of what's important to them when choosing where to spend their energy, their lives, to what purpose.
To me, if we continue to succeed on the sustainability front, to me it translates into a competitive advantage because it's gonna allow us to keep feeding the people pipeline that's gonna build this company down the road.
For me just to add, I think this transformation that we've been through, this vision that we used to play a finite game, and we are moving into an infinite game, that's the way for us to really succeed. This vision that the most important thing in this new game is to zoom in the ecosystem and not just in our company, and make our ecosystem successful, prosperous. I think this is a huge transformation that is really it's becoming already and is a competitive advantage us to really succeed.
This vision that the most important thing in this new game is to zoom in the ecosystem and not just in our company, and made our ecosystem successful, prosperous. I think this is a huge transformation that is really it's becoming already and is a competitive advantage hard to copy. If you look at the numbers and understand that the relation with our customers is in an all-time high satisfaction, it is really something that made us proud and I think that's the right mindset for us really to win as a ecosystem. I think this mindset of like transferring everything that we can develop internally, hard to copy.
If you look at the numbers and understand that the relation with our customers is in an all-time high satisfaction, it is really something that made us proud and I think that's the right mindset for us really to win as a ecosystem. I think this mindset of like transferring everything that we can develop internally to our customers, to our suppliers, to our community is really something that will create this bond in this ecosystem that it's a completely different game. It's like the whole ecosystem moving. The VOA where we transfer this management tools that we have to communities. The commitment that we are having from our suppliers to make a statement on diversity and inclusion too.
This vision that our ecosystem should win, that we are going through it, and we have numbers that's showing that we are in a whole different level. I think it's something very transformational, and I think that's gonna be a huge competitive advantage.
Thank you, Jean. I believe the next question is to all of you. It's from Barclays, Antonio Hernandez. You've mentioned reducing Scope 3 emissions as one of the largest challenges. What other main challenges do you expect in your efforts towards reaching your ESG goals?
I'll start here, talking about the more on the social pillar. I think there are many challenges. The first one, when we see the challenge on diversity and inclusion, we see that, we already have in the more basic levels and medium levels, seniority levels of the company, a great pipeline of talents, but we do have a great challenge of making all these talents, not all of them of course, but, helping these people being promoted and achieving the more senior positions at the company. I'm not only talking about the ratio.
The challenge on diversity and inclusion, we see that we already have in the more basic levels and medium levels, seniority levels of the company, a great pipeline of talents, but we do have a great challenge of making all these talents, not all of them of course, but helping these people being promoted and achieving the more senior positions at the company. I'm not only talking about the ratio aspect that I mentioned and I focused on my presentation on gender, but the diversity, for instance, on origin of the people, the diversity on age, that's gonna be next chapter, LGBTQ+, and so on. That's a great challenge that we have. Regarding the Smart Drinking platform and responsible consumption of alcohol, we do have also a great challenge.
I mentioned our focuses, our pillars, but at the end, that's a personal decision on the consumer, right? We give all the tools. We have we empower the consumers with the choice. We have our campaigns and our actions and our programs to really change behavior, but we need actually to in practice change the behavior on a personal level. It's a great challenge. We have been working a lot, especially to reduce the harmful consumption of alcohol, but there is a lot to come yet. These are the two main that I think about in the social area, but I'll pass to Caio and the others.
I believe we have great challenge on being one step ahead. We have mentioned during our panel here innovation, transformation. On the ethics aspect, it's the same principle. If we are talking about our ethical principles for the real world, the same applies in the digital world. We should also be one step ahead of the regulation. We know that whenever innovation comes, the regulation comes after. We have to apply the principles of doing things the right way. This is linked to our culture also, and see what's coming.
being on opportunity management or on risk management. That's what I see we have to plan for the long term and to try to be one step ahead in thinking about our plans. Over to you, Caio.
Thank you, Letícia . I think that the main challenge for sure is circular packaging. We have been working on this area for the last years. The challenge here is to find solutions, innovations that are also financially sustainable because we need to guarantee the medium and long term of everything that we do at the company. The second part is the carbon, the scope.
The second part is the carbon, the Scope 3 emissions. How can we engage? How we can help our ecosystem? How can we bring them together with us? How can we support their initiatives? How can we share best practices? Not keep you waiting for something that is gonna happen in one or two years, but how we can deliver this to them in the next five, 10, 40 years. As everyone mentioned here, we want our business last for the next 100 years, and also our planet. I think that is gonna happen in one or two years, but how we can deliver this to them in the next five, 10, 40 years.
As everyone mentioned here, we want our business last for the next 100 years, and also our planet. I think that those are the two main issues.
Yeah. To add, I think we always have this vision that our company started with beer, and beer is inclusive, is natural, is local and prosperous, right? These are three words that we are elevating to think in the company, and take this as our ecosystem to the next level. When we go for the inclusiveness part, we are really thinking about the alcohol im- vision that our company started with beer, and beer is inclusive, is natural, is local and prosperous, right?
These are three words that we are elevating to think in the company and take this as our ecosystem to the next level. When we go for the inclusiveness part, we are really thinking about the alcohol impact in the lives of everybody. How can we really reduce the harmful? We are betting big time on talking about moderation, on transferring knowledge for our consumers, for them to understand themselves. Connect, partner with health techs, with associations to really understand here in Latin America, how can we really reduce the harmful impact of alcohol? How is this transition that is going in the market that we are seeing from hard alcohols like cachaça to more moderate alcohols like beer, how can this evolve?
How can this be more positive than it was in the past? Carbon is our obligation. We know that, so we start with Scope 2 to really understand here in Latin America, how can we really reduce the harmful impact of alcohol? How is this transition that is coming in that is going in the market that we are seeing from hard alcohols like cachaça to more moderate alcohols like beer, how can this evolve? How can this be more positive than it was in the past? Carbon
It's our obligation. We know that, so we start with Scope 1. We're gonna make it happen, then move for the Scope 3 that is more challenging. Our superpower is really to get our ecosystem to be more prosperous, being local, really. Talk about productive inclusion. Understand the Brazilians that have to upgrade their lives through education, through jobs. Somehow, if we can transfer and create really this Bora platform where we can help 5 million Brazilians to upgrade their lives, these are the things that we are pretty much working for here.
Thank you. Thank you all.
Understand the Brazilians that have to upgrade their lives through education, through jobs. Somehow, if we can transfer and create really this Bora platform where we can help 5 million Brazilians to upgrade their lives, these are the things that we are pretty much working for here.
Thank you. Thank you all. Now our ESG update has come to an end. We are very proud of our progress so far. Congratulations to all the teams across. We will continue to pursue more opportunities to improve our ESG agenda because, as you know, we are a company that we dream big. We believe a strong ESG agenda is the key for our future with more cheers. Before we close, we'd like to invite you to point out your cell phone to the QR code on your screen, so we can collect your feedback to improve our ESG journey moving forward. Thank you for your time today. To the team that make this event happen, thank you all. You rock. Have a nice day. See you next year.
Thank you very much.