In commemoration of the 2025 World Environment Day, International Breweries Plc has restated its commitment to sustainability, as the company organised plastic cleanup drives and sensitisation campaigns to promote environmental responsibility among residents.
The activities were conducted under the framework of Africa Sustainability Week, an AB InBev regional initiative designed to drive awareness and coordinated sustainability efforts across the company’s key markets in the continent.
Across all five locations, including Abuja, International Breweries employees, local partners, and community volunteers participated in riverbank cleanups and community education targeting rivers and public spaces.
The company said the efforts were aimed at reducing plastic pollution in urban and semi-urban environments, while also fostering environmental responsibility among residents.
Managing director of International Breweries, Carlos Coutino said, “sustainability is not just a corporate goal, it is a way of life for us at International Breweries.
“We are proud to join the world in celebrating this important day by taking real action from restoring land and cleaning our rivers to promoting circularity in packaging. We believe in leaving the environment better than we met it, and that requires commitment, collaboration, and consistency.”
Coutino added that “we had made circular packaging a key focus of our sustainability strategy. Over 95 per cent of our product portfolio is packaged in returnable glass bottles, a measure aimed at reducing waste and supporting reuse models in line with our circular economy sustainability pillar.”
The corporate affairs & regulatory director at International Breweries, Temitope Oguntokun noted that “we recognise that our responsibility to the environment extends beyond compliance, it is about leadership and long-term impact.”
“That is why we have set bold 2025 goals to ensure 100 per cent of our product packaging is either returnable or made from predominantly recycled materials. These are not just targets, they are part of our core purpose to create a future with more cheers, for people and the planet.”
Executive director of the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance, Agharese Onaghise stated that “our collaboration with manufacturers like International Breweries is a demonstration of our collective commitment to beat plastic pollution.”
“By supporting community-based recovery and launching collection hubs in places like Osogbo, Mararaba and Nasarawa, we are helping ensure post-consumer packaging is diverted from waterways and landfills into recycling value chains,” Onaghise stated.
Government representatives present at some of the activities also acknowledged the impact of the clean-up initiatives. In Rivers State, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Sir Alwell Okereuku stated that “International Breweries’s consistent efforts to tackle plastic pollution have not gone unnoticed. We are proud of this collaboration and will continue to partner to protect our environment. This is not just about stakeholders, it is about shared ownership of our future.
Beyond environmental actions, International Breweries is also supporting sustainability through its Kickstart youth entrepreneurship programme, which has funded several startups in the recycling and waste-to-wealth sectors. The company noted that its support for small-scale circular economy ventures complements its operational sustainability efforts.
