Publications
Publications
- October 2023
- HBS Case Collection
Driving Sustainability at AB InBev
By: Ethan Rouen and Antonio Manuel Oftelie
Abstract
It was the height of the summer in 2022, and Michel Doukeris, the CEO of Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), and Peter Kraemer, the company’s Chief Supply Officer, gazed across the vast desert surrounding Zacatecas, Mexico. They were visiting their Grupo Modelo Brewery, AB InBev’s largest and the highest-volume producer in the world, to contemplate their goal of increasing sales while reducing the company’s impact on the natural environment. This case documents how company executives led an organizational transformation designed to help the firm balance growth and sustainability and achieve two benchmarks: becoming the number-one consumer packaged goods company for top-line growth and achieving their 2025 sustainability target, referred to as 100+ goals, and composed of smart agriculture, water stewardship, circular packaging, and climate action. The case illuminates the key decisions AB InBev executives needed to make, including making capital-intensive investments into the supply chain that drive sustainability and growth, reinventing processes and an overarching business model that had remained largely the same for hundreds of years, as well as changing how people work in a culture steeped in tradition.
Keywords
Innovation; Transformation; Decisions; Environmental Sustainability; Leading Change; Growth Management; Business Model; Food and Beverage Industry; Mexico
Citation
Rouen, Ethan, and Antonio Manuel Oftelie. "Driving Sustainability at AB InBev." Harvard Business School Case 124-037, October 2023.