AsiaNet 89985

LONDON , June 8, 2021, /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/--

- The achievement is another step in Corona's long-term aim to leave no plastic

in nature

- For World Oceans Week, Corona Releases "Plastic Reality" an eye-opening

augmented reality (AR) experience to empower people to join the brand in their

zero plastic quest

- The Augmented Reality (AR) tool is the first of its kind to show people their

personal plastic footprint and offer tips on how to reduce it

Corona has become the first global beverage brand with a net zero plastic

footprint, meaning the brand recovers more plastic from the environment than it

releases into the world. This achievement is part of Corona's vision to be a

sustainability leader in consumer packaged goods and is the latest in the

brand's longtime efforts to help protect the world's oceans and beaches from

marine plastic pollution.

Achieving this milestone comes after an extensive external assessment of

Corona's global operations against the 3RI Corporate Plastic Stewardship

Guidelines [https://www.3rinitiative.org/guidelines-for-corporates ] by South

Pole, a leading climate solutions provider. The assessment measured Corona's

remaining plastic usage throughout the brand's products and distribution

logistics processes. It also followed the Verra Plastic Waste Reduction

Standard to calculate the impact of Corona's mitigation activities, including a

major investment in Mexico Recicla, a recycling facility in Mexico. Thanks to

these mitigation efforts, Corona now recovers more plastic than its plastic

footprint.

"As a brand born at the beach and deeply connected with nature, Corona has a

responsibility to do all it can to be an ally to our environment and our

oceans," said Felipe Ambra, Global Vice President of Marketing, Corona.

"Becoming the first global beverage brand with a net zero plastic footprint is

the latest in Corona's broader ambition to help protect the world's oceans and

beaches from plastic pollution. But we can't do it alone. That's why Corona

created Plastic Reality, an augmented reality experience that allows people to

see their annual plastic footprint in their own home. Seeing your full years'

worth of plastic in your living room is truly eye-opening, and hopefully will

inspire people to reduce their personal plastic use and their impact on the

environment."

Plastic Reality users get an estimate of their annual plastic footprint after

answering some basic questions about their consumption habits. That footprint

is then visualized through colorful AR pieces of plastic that splash across the

user's physical world like seawater washing ashore. From there Plastic Reality

opens a virtual portal to a polluted beach paradise that shows how plastic

affects nature while prompting users to take action to reduce their plastic

footprint. For more information and to try Plastic Reality, visit

www.PlasticReality.com.

"Corona is setting a high bar for the industry. Their ongoing product redesign

efforts will progressively eliminate the plastic they don't need, and their

investment in Mexico Recicla goes well beyond what is required to address their

current plastic footprint, the plastic lost to nature. We congratulate Corona

for reducing plastic usage, and strengthening collection and recycling

infrastructure in Mexico, without which the vision of a circular economy would

not be possible," said Irene Hofmeijer, Senior Managing Consultant for Plastics

at South Pole.

Corona's net zero plastic achievement is another step in the brand's long-term

journey to eliminate its plastic footprint entirely. The Corona Plastic-Free

Challenge [https://www.100accelerator.com/en/challenges/corona ] looks for

passionate entrepreneurs from across the globe to help Corona find new ideas or

technologies that can reduce or eliminate more plastic from the supply chain.

Additionally, Corona is investing in the redesign of key products. For example,

100% of Corona export volume for cans will be free of plastic rings by the end

of the year.

"We welcome this first important step by Corona towards the complete removal of

plastic from their supply chain," said Richard Hill, CEO of Ocean Generation.

"This net zero plastic footprint accreditation demonstrates Corona's

recognition of the plastic footprint their products leave on the planet and the

series of practical steps they are starting to take in mitigation. We look

forward to working with Corona to achieve their ultimate aim of leaving no

plastic in nature."

These efforts build on Corona's longstanding commitment to help protect the

world's oceans and beaches from plastic pollution. So far, Corona has conducted

over 1,400 clean-ups, engaging over 68,000 volunteers, and collecting plastic

waste from more than 44 million square meters of beach – for further

information see

https://protectparadise.com

About Corona

Born in Mexico, Corona is the leading beer brand in the country, the most

popular Mexican beer worldwide exported to more than 180 countries. Corona

Extra was first brewed in 1925 at the Cervecería Modelo in Mexico City. Corona

is a pioneer in the beer industry by being the first to use a transparent

bottle showcasing its purity and high quality to the world. The artwork found

on the bottle is painted, highlighting our commitment to quality in our

packaging and our Mexican heritage. No Corona is complete without the lime.

Naturally adding character, flavor and refreshment, the lime ritual is an

integral part of delivering an experience that is truly unique to Corona. The

brand is synonymous with the beach and celebrates time outdoors. It invites

people to pause, relax and enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

Corona has an ongoing commitment to plastics. Since its partnership with Parley

in 2017 has had great impact, over accomplishing its mission to protect 100

islands before 2020, as well as deploying a constant global clean up effort.

The brand has ambitious sustainability goals outside of plastic too.

Recently, Corona launched 'The barley pack' piloting a new technology that

turns barley remains into paper packaging to reduce waste.

More than 60% of Corona's global glass volume in Mexico is returnable, and a

recent expansion of this into Germany, the brand has plans to scale up

returnable bottle across different regions in the near future and reutilize all

its bottles.

About South Pole

South Pole is a leading project developer and provider of global climate

solutions, with 500 experts in 18 offices worldwide. South Pole has worked with

over 1,000 companies and organizations on their climate and sustainability

journeys, helping them reduce their impact on the climate while mitigating risk

and creating value. Its expertise covers project finance, climate risk

analysis, and the development of environmental commodities, like carbon,

plastic and renewable energy credits. South Pole has mobilised climate finance

to nearly 1,000 projects responsible for removing, reducing, or avoiding over

100 million tonnes of CO2e to date. For more information, visit

www.southpole.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

About Anheuser-Busch InBev

Anheuser-Busch InBev is a publicly traded company (Euronext: ABI) based in

Leuven, Belgium, with secondary listings on the Mexico (MEXBOL: ANB) and South

Africa (JSE: ANH) stock exchanges and with American Depositary Receipts on the

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BUD). Our Dream is to bring people together for

a better world. Beer, the original social network, has been bringing people

together for thousands of years. We are committed to building great brands that

stand the test of time and to brewing the best beers using the finest natural

ingredients. Our diverse portfolio of well over 500 beer brands includes global

brands Budweiser(R), Corona(R) and Stella Artois(R); multi-country brands

Beck's(R), Hoegaarden(R), Leffe(R) and Michelob Ultra(R); and local champions

such as Aguila(R), Antarctica(R), Bud Light(R), Brahma(R), Cass(R), Castle(R),

Castle Lite(R), Cristal(R), Harbin(R), Jupiler(R), Modelo Especial(R),

Quilmes(R), Victoria(R), Sedrin(R), and Skol(R). Our brewing heritage dates

back more than 600 years, spanning continents and generations. From our

European roots at the Den Hoorn brewery in Leuven, Belgium. To the pioneering

spirit of the Anheuser & Co brewery in St. Louis, US. To the creation of the

Castle Brewery in South Africa during the Johannesburg gold rush. To Bohemia,

the first brewery in Brazil. Geographically diversified with a balanced

exposure to developed and developing markets, we leverage the collective

strengths of approximately 164,000 employees based in nearly 50 countries

worldwide. For 2020, AB InBev's reported revenue was 46.8 billion USD

(excluding JVs and associates).

About Ocean Generation

Ocean Generation combines a decade-long experience of science and storytelling

with the fresh energy of a youth collective. Starting with 'A Plastic Ocean'

documentary – praised by Sir David Attenborough as "one of the most important

films of our time" – Ocean Generation is now growing an inclusive global

movement to tackle Ocean threats.

They are dedicated to building a world where the Ocean is freed from human

threats within a generation; to restore a healthy relationship between humanity

and the Ocean. "As the first generation to deeply understand Ocean issues,

we're also the last generation who can stop them. We are the Ocean Generation."

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SOURCE: Corona