Our Progress 

At Carlsberg, our goal is to provide our consumers with products of the highest quality and presenting them with honest and responsible information.  

We constantly monitor the quality of our products and have on the ground inspection teams that continuously sample the products in supermarkets and bars. To ensure our products' high quality standards we also audit our packaging and raw material suppliers. Last year, the range of countries in which audits are carried out on a Group level increased and now includes Russia, Ukraine, China, India, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Many of our local companies provide channels for direct communication with our consumers. In China, for example, the consumer complaint tracking system of our companies in the Yunnan Province immediately activates a response procedure in case a complaint has been received, to ensure it is effectively addressed and resolved.

Read more about the consumer feedback system in Greater China

In regards to our marketing activities, consumers and other stakeholders have access to formalised channels in many countries to complain about marketing activities they don't think meet their standards. One example is the 'Danish Alcohol Advertising Board' that ensures that the code of practice for marketing alcoholic beverages in Denmark is enforced. At Carlsberg, we always welcome feedback from our stakeholders about our marketing activities and compliance with our Marketing Communication Policy

In 2009, we developed and implemented a new Group Marketing Communication Policy for the entire Carlsberg Group. This new policy provides guidelines and sets out standards for our marketing managers across the globe to ensure that our marketing activities are always legal, decent, honest and in line with our social responsibility.

This year we are reporting performance figures on consumer issues for the first time as a Group. We recognise that there is still a challenge ahead in obtaining a complete and fully aligned overview of all our CSR data and more awareness of our Marketing Communication Policy among our employees.

The table above indicates the number of complaints we received regarding violations of our marketing communication policies. In each of these cases, we always investigate the complaint and engage with the organisation or individual who has filed it, and when necessary take corrective actions.

In line with our commitment to promote responsible drinking, many of our local companies have developed initiatives to promote responsible drinking behaviour as well as to prevent situations that are harmful for the consumers and societies, such as drinking & driving and underage drinking.

Read about Carlsberg UK's Drink Aware initiative

In many of these campaigns, we establish partnerships with relevant organisations and other stakeholders. Examples include Carlsberg Polska and Carlsberg Deutschland, who cooperate actively with the local brewer's associations in developing responsible drinking messages.

We are also increasingly integrating our responsible drinking activities into our marketing activities. During J-day, the evening when the yearly Christmas beer is released, Carlsberg Danmark engaged with volunteers from Natteravnene (Night owls) who helped making the event take place in a positive and enjoyable atmosphere. 

Read more about other initiatives where Carlsberg Danmark has worked with the Natteravnene

Preventing situations where people drink after driving remains a spearhead in our responsible drinking activities. One of the ways to prevent this is to provide free transportation during festivals and other large events. Such initiatives where carried out by Carlsberg Srbija during the Tuborg Green Fest and Carlsberg Danmark during Jday.

Going Forward

• We intend to roll-out the international quality standard Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HCAAP) to all sites outside the European Union. This standard is mandatory for all European sites. By implementing this standard, we further strengthen our commitment to quality as a group.
  
  
• In 2010, our goal is to train all global marketing managers to ensure full compliance with the Marketing Communication Policy. We plan to implement an e-learning tool to enhance awareness and understanding of the policy.
  
  
• We will implement our social media guidelines during the first half of 2010.
  
  
• We plan to look at various opportunities further to integrate our responsible drinking approach into each of our international brands.