Carlsberg Group reaffirms climate commitment with updated ESG programme ‘Brewing Tomorrow’

Carlsberg Group launches Brewing Tomorrow, its updated Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) programme. It reconfirms Carlsberg’s commitment to reduce the impact on the planet and people by tackling the issues that matter most to our business, and to society.

Brewing Tomorrow is launched following the Group’s second largest acquisition ever and reflects its new portfolio and geographic presence. The aim being to continue Carlsberg’s commitment to deliver long-term resilience and sustainable growth.

With Brewing Tomorrow, Carlsberg is strengthening its commitment to sustainability. Built around four pillars - Cutting Carbon, Protecting Nature, Empowering People and Inspiring Choice – the new structure provides a simpler and more actionable roadmap. Brewing Tomorrow raises Carlsberg’s climate ambition by introducing updated absolute Scope 3 reduction targets in line with requirements of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), the leading global standard for corporate emissions reductions targets. Brewing Tomorrow also deepens commitments to regenerative agriculture and recycled materials and adds new sugar‑reduction goals in line with the growth of the soft drinks portfolio. The programme also introduces a new target focused on employees’ experience of inclusion, while maintaining its target on women in senior leadership position, supporting Carlsberg’s aim to build a truly thriving and inclusive workplace.

With the acquisition of Britvic in 2025, Carlsberg has added nearly 1 million tonnes of CO2e emissions to their value chain – a 16% increase – and produces a more complex beverage portfolio, consisting of 30% soft drinks. To credibly adapt to these significant changes, while meeting the elevated ambition of reducing absolute carbon emissions, the target year for Brewing Tomorrow has moved by two years, to 2032. Carlsberg maintains its commitment to a net zero value chain by 2040. More details on how we drive climate action can be found in our first-ever consolidated Climate Transition Plan, available here: Climate Transition Plan.

Brewing Tomorrow is embedded in the company’s strategy, governed through clear accountability across functions and markets. “Carlsberg is on an exciting journey. We are evolving as a company, with a broader portfolio and a wider geographic presence. Brewing Tomorrow is our sustainability road map of action, built on strong performance in the recent years. The aim is clear: to drive impact and ensure Carlsberg is a future-ready business,” says Jacob Aarup-Andersen, Carlsberg Group CEO.

Carlsberg has a strong track record of progress, from being among the first companies in the world to commit to SBTi targets in 2017, to eliminating coal from production sites in 2022. Just last year, the Group delivered an 8% reduction in absolute value chain emissions compared with 2024, reached 51% recycled content in bottles and cans, replenished 32% of water consumed at sites in priority high-risk areas (up from 16% in 2024), had 31% of brews sold be no- or low-alcohol (up from 30% in 2024), and saw 34% of senior leadership roles held by women (up from 30% in 2024).

“With Brewing Tomorrow, we are building on our learnings from the past, while updating our focus for the future. The programme is embedded in our business: how we run our operations, how we engage across our value chain, how we develop our people, and how we create more choice across our expanding portfolio. It builds on decades of reducing our impacts, while supporting our business growth. I am proud of the journey we are on and cannot wait to bring it to life with colleagues and partners across the world,” says Simon Boas Hoffmeyer, VP, Group Sustainability & ESG, Carlsberg Group.

Cutting Carbon: Carlsberg will continue reducing emissions and building climate resilience. It is significantly raising its climate ambition by moving from relative to absolute carbon reduction targets across Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. This pillar lays out the plan for circular packaging and a net zero future.

Protecting Nature: Carlsberg is committed to protecting and restoring the ecosystems that sustain its business by focusing on regeneration and water stewardship. The targets include advancing regenerative agriculture, improving water efficiency and replenishing water resources.

Inspiring Choice: Carlsberg will continue to innovate to enable informed and mindful consumption by shaping consumer behaviour and expanding its portfolio. The company’s targets focus on consumer engagement, transparent product information, and diverse product offerings across both no- and low-alcohol and no- and low-sugar beverages.

Empowering People: Carlsberg is empowering its people by building a safe, respectful & inclusive growth culture where everyone can thrive. The targets focus on further ingraining a zero accidents culture, advancing women in senior leadership and ensuring that everyone feels included.

Cutting Carbon:

Achieved a 12% reduction in absolute emissions at our production facilities and an 8% reduction in absolute near-term value chain emissions since 2024.

• Our new biomass energy facility in Laos is supplies over 80% of Vientiane Brewery’s steam requirements using locally sourced biomass. This replaces fossil fuels and reduces annual CO2e emissions by 84% – or approximately 15 kt CO2e.
  
  
• We sourced 90% of our electricity from renewables, with 19% coming from new renewable assets (operational and contracted), a major leap from 6% in 2024. We signed 3 new power purchase agreements (PPAs) in Norway, Finland and Sweden in 2025.
  
  

Achieved 51% recycled content in our bottles and cans, surpassing our 2030 target of 50% five years ahead of schedule.

Protecting Nature:

We procured 27,600 tonnes of barley grown with some regenerative principles – totalling 2% of raw materials and doubling the amount from 2024. Of this, 7,000 tonnes were grown with leading regenerative principles, our strictest category. We continue to expand regenerative farming pilots in France, UK, Finland and Denmark.

• Brasseries Kronenbourg, our French business, signed an agreement with grains suppliers, ensuring that from 2026, 1664 Blonde beer will be made with 100% traceable barley malt and incorporate regenerative agricultural practices.
  
  

32% of the water consumed at our production sites in high-risk areas has now been replenished, up 16% from 2024.

• We replenished 1.46 million m3 of water in areas near our high-risk sites in India, China and Cambodia. We also launched a new partnership with Water.org to enable access to clean water for more than 112,000 people across the Ganges River Basin.
  
  

Inspiring Choice:

Increased the share of no- and low-alcohol brews to 31% of global sales, up from 28.5% in 2023 and 27% in 2021.

• Our markets continued their engaging partnerships and campaigns for responsible drinking, with Sweden unveiling the world’s smallest alcohol-free beer – the size of a grain of rice – to encourage a conversation about alcohol consumption and moderation.
  
  

Empowering People:

Achieved a 16% reduction in lost-time injuries since 2024, and 74% reduction since 2015.

Reached 34% women in senior leadership roles, up from 30% in 2024.