Vervelde
Kunle Aderinokun
“Corporate social responsibility is a hard-edged business decision. Not because it is a nice thing to do or because people are forcing us to do it… because it is good for our business,” said Niall Fitzerald, former CEO, Unilever
Not a few analysts agree that Nigerian Breweries Plc is one of the companies in Nigeria that is a socially responsible with a good track record of corporate social responsibility initiatives.
Recently, the nation’s leading brewing company was named the Best Company in Responsible Consumption and Production in 2016. The company clinched the honours at this year’s edition of the critically acclaimed Nigeria CSR Awards – The Social Enterprise Report and Awards – SERA, which held in Lagos.
In 2014, the company was also named the Overall Winner, Most Socially Responsible Company in Nigeria. In that year, it pulled a total of four awards, winning The Best Company in Infrastructure, Best Company in Supply Chain, CSR Practitioner of the Year and the overall Best Company in CSR confirming its position as the most socially responsible corporate citizen in Nigeria.
Nigerian Breweries has also embarked on a campaign to promote responsible beer consumption in a meaningful way; thereby building the image of the brewery industry.
Experts – microbiologists, dieticians, nutritionists, medical doctors, sociologists, etc – have been regular faces at the Nigerian Beer Symposium, which have attracted local and international attention.
This year’s edition of the forum actually lived up to its billings as Nigeria’s top celebrities across academia, social and political circles converged at the Latana Hall of Eko Hotels, Victoria Island, Lagos, the venue of the event.
The beer symposium tagged: ‘Beer and Culture’ drew participants – Nollywood actors, academia, scientists, and nutritionists – from far and near.
In his welcome remarks, the Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Nicolaas Vervelde, stressed that the objective of the Nigerian Beer Symposium had been to highlight and share contemporary knowledge on the wonderful product called beer.
At this year’s event, Professor Innocent Ujah, a professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, who is the current Director-General of Nigerian Medical Research Council, Lagos, disclosed that moderate consumption of alcohol was associated with a decreased risk of Cardiac disease Stroke and Diabetes mellitus.
According to him, Brewer’s yeast is known to be a rich source of nutrients; therefore, as expected, beer could contain significant amounts of nutrients, including magnesium, selenium, potassium, phosphorous, selenium, biotin and chromium.
Also speaking at the occasion, Ted Mukoro, a veteran advertising expert maintained that beer was certainly the least alcoholic of all alcoholic drinks, and also the healthiest and most nutritious. According to him, like all enjoyable and exciting things made by nature– alcohol, sex, sports, dancing – beer could be irresponsibly abused or over-used. “Nothing enjoyable is bad until put to the wrong use,” he said
At the same event in 2015,a nutritionist and food technology expert, Mrs. Dolapo Coker, submitted that a moderate intake of beer can positively impact the health and wellbeing of women. Coker, a fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology (FNIFST) also warned that alcohol abuse impacts the health of the woman through the direct interaction of alcohol with organ systems such as the brain, liver and gastro-intestinal system, when the alcohol is ingested and transported through the blood.
Coker added that beer is an alcoholic beverage, but it could be classified as food, because of its nutrient value. She listed the nutrients to include: carbohydrates, like dextrins and polysaccharides; proteins in the form of amino acids; load of vitamins like the B vitamins, vitamin C, folic acid etc; minerals like magnesium, potassium, silicon, selenium etc; it contains fibre like betaglucans etc.
Also speaking at the symposium, Dr. Henk Hendricks, a biologist and a project leader in the Institute for Food and Nutrition in The Netherlands, explained that moderation level of beer consumption is beneficial to cardiovascular health.
According to Hendricks, some of the inherent advantages of beer include: low percentage of alcohol; large quantities of water; its role in rehydration; a good source of minerals; a good source of polyphenolic antioxidants; contains anti-inflammatory xanthohumoles; and a large variety of raw materials, including gluten-free’ fibers.
Professor Emevwo Biakolo of the Pan Atlantic University, Lagos, who was the Chairman of the conference, also submitted that moderate beer intake in the elderly appears to be associated with significantly longer survival in men aged 60–74 years and in all elderly women. “There is evidence that moderate alcohol consumption may be associated with better cognitive function in old age,” he said
Today, there are about 40,000 types of beer in the world in an industry that employs millions of people directly and indirectly. However, the world of beer is still shrouded in many myths and misconceptions. Some of these are easy to contemplate, while others are downright ridiculous.
Recently, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and Nigerian Breweries Plc (NB) restated strong commitment to reduce road crashes in Nigeria, particularly those related to drunkenness.
Announcing commencement of the eighth yearly ‘Don’t Drink and Drive’ campaign, an initiative sponsored by Nigerian Breweries in partnership with the FRSC in Lagos, the organisation stated that there was need for intensified effort on responsible consumption of alcohol for a safer society.
The company has also collaborated with about 12 global alcohol businesses in five key areas such as: under-age drinking, marketing code of practices, consumer information and product innovation, drink-driving and retailer support.
Two years ago, the company and FRSC, the government agency that is responsible for safe driving on Nigerian roads, organised a “Don’t Drink and Drive” campaign in four states, covering 1,080 commercial drivers. The company’s collaboration with the FRSC had, in the last six years, been directed at communication to change drivers’ behaviour towards alcohol. Also, in collaboration with the International Center for Alcohol Policy (ICAP), the company has embarked upon an evaluation of previous enlightenment programmes directed at the primary target groups.
Meanwhile, not a few industry watchers have picked holes in the Nigerian Breweries’ bold step against beer abuse. They argued that for a product that requires huge volume sales to make profit, educating the public on the risk associated with beer abuse may be considered counter-productive.
However, for a company that believes that human decisions should be based on the knowledge of their environment, products and services, Nigerian Breweries has decided to continue to win with consumers by advocating moderation by presenting the health risks of excessive intake of alcohol while also protecting the good side of healthy living with regard to beer consumption.
This may have inspired the organisers of the SERA award to specifically recognize and honour Nigerian Breweries for pushing responsible consumption of beer. Analysts also agree that the award should encourage companies in other sectors to emulate Nigerian Breweries in propagating the characteristics of their products, especially products with high level of sugar, salt caffeine, etc.
More importantly, scientists agree that the mellowing influence that moderate consumption of alcohol has, with its calming and relaxing impact, will of itself have a sparing effect on stress-related illnesses.
