We are dedicated to creating a responsible drinking culture, providing a safe, inclusive, and engaging workplace, protecting the environment, and making a positive contribution to our communities.
To have the most impact, we prioritize the corporate responsibility issues that are closest to our business, and conduct periodic assessments of our most material issues. When we look holistically across the landscape of social, environmental, governance, and economic issues and evaluate where we should focus our resources, we have identified four major priorities:
While we have long believed environmental and social responsibility is aligned with our vision for the long-term health and prosperity for our communities, consumers, employees, and other stakeholders, we also know these investments create value and contribute to our business success.
Our priorities are overseen by dedicated senior leaders at Brown-Forman who report to our Board of Directors.
Like other business performance measures, we track Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices and metrics as key indicators of our performance. We use globally accepted frameworks such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) guidelines to inform our reporting. Please see our GRI Index and SASB Index for more information.
Our commitment to ESG areas align with a subset of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, allowing our efforts to support the greater good. The Sustainable Development Goals are endorsed by industries and stakeholders worldwide.
Our ESG commitments align with UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), endorsed across industries and stakeholders worldwide. Each year, we also reaffirm our continued support for the United Nations Global Compact.
While the intent of the SDGs and Global Compact are large scale, much of our work happens more locally in communities where we operate. By doing our part, we can contribute to solving these broader, more complex challenges.
In 2019, we reviewed and expanded the list of SDGs that align with our goals. We identified a subset of goals, which we believe have the strongest connection to our four corporate responsibility focus areas, and are where we can have the most impact. This year we report highlights of our progress for fiscal 2020 against each of these goals, along with key partnerships. Please see our Partnerships section for a complete listing.
We are working with DendriFund to initiate and accelerate a collective effort to bring rye back to Kentucky as a commercial cover crop. This collaborative effort will help conserve farmland and improve soil health and water quality, while also providing a local rye supply for Brown-Forman, the Kentucky bourbon industry, and others such as bakers and brewers.
This year we updated our community relations vision to reflect a new ambition: “Leverage our company culture of giving back to deliver transformative community impact as a best-in-class philanthropic leader.”
In fiscal 2020, the Brown-Forman Foundation donated $3 million and our corporate charitable giving totaled $10 million. We contributed over 16,000 employee volunteer hours, with more than 130 employees serving on nonprofit boards of directors.
Our corporate value of teamwork extends to our responsibility efforts. We seek relationships with our partners where shared ideas and resources inform and guide our corporate responsibility strategy. We partner with individuals and organizations because we believe this kind of deep collaboration leads to greater positive impact. A selection of our partner relationships is outlined below:
The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (Responsibility.org) is an independent U.S. nonprofit funded by the distilled spirits industry that works to eliminate drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and promote responsible alcohol consumption.
The Portman Group is an alcohol responsibility organization and regulator of alcohol marketing in the U.K. It operates codes of practice on alcohol marketing and sponsorship to ensure that alcohol beverages are marketed in a socially responsible way, only to those aged 18 and over, and in a way that does not appeal to those who are vulnerable.
Ceres is a sustainability nonprofit organization working with the most influential investors and companies to build leadership and drive solutions throughout the economy. Through powerful networks and advocacy, Ceres tackles the world’s biggest sustainability challenges, including climate change, water scarcity and pollution, and inequitable workplaces. Since joining in 2011, Brown-Forman has partnered with Ceres to engage with independent stakeholders on important sustainability issues.
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive. Brown-Forman has partnered with the Kentucky Chapter of TNC since 1975, on projects ranging from stream restoration at the Woodford Reserve Distillery to promoting urban conservation at Brown-Forman’s corporate headquarters.
DrinkWise is an Australia-based nonprofit that promotes behavior change through informational and educational campaigns. Brown-Forman is a long-time supporter of their campaigns aimed at parents as role models and influencers.
The Healing Place in Louisville, Kentucky, reaches nearly 1,000 men and women suffering from drug and alcohol addiction daily, providing the tools for recovery and restoring productive lives. Our support includes both financial contributions and our employees’ time and talent.
The Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) brings together the sector’s global leaders to collectively advance environmental sustainability by driving an agenda that helps accelerate reducing resource consumption and mitigating environmental impacts. Brown-Forman partners with BIER, providing technical knowledge, insights, and experience that help BIER to accelerate solution development, and enable the sector to speak with an allied voice and inform the development of global standards.
Active Heroes is a nonprofit in Louisville, Kentucky, whose mission is to reduce veteran suicide and assist military families. Active Heroes partners with one of Brown-Forman’s Employee Resource Groups, BRAVE, which supports, develops, and promotes the unique characteristics and needs of military veterans and their families.
The Morton Center in Louisville restores the health of individuals and families struggling with alcoholism and other addictions by providing specialized counseling and educational services. The Morton Center partners with our SPIRIT Employee Resource Group to educate our employees on the disease of addiction.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) improves the lives of LGBTQ people by working to increase understanding and encourage the adoption of LGBTQ-inclusive policies and practices. Brown-Forman began participating in HRC’s Corporate Equality Index in 2009, receiving a perfect score of 100 each year for the last ten years.
The International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to reducing harmful drinking and promoting understanding of responsible drinking. It is supported by the leading global beer, wine, and spirits producers, who have come together for a common purpose: to be part of the solution in combating harmful drinking. To advance this shared mission, IARD works and partners with the public sector, civil society, and private stakeholders.
spiritsEUROPE represents one of Europe’s most valuable agri-food export sectors and, with it, the interests of 31 associations of spirits producers as well as 10 leading multinational companies. spiritsEUROPE’s mission is to represent, defend and promote the European spirits sector and help members achieve sustainable business growth.
The Drinkaware Trust is an independent U.K.-wide alcohol education charity, funded largely by voluntary and unrestricted donations from U.K. alcohol producers, retailers, and supermarkets. The Trust is governed independently and works in partnership with others to help reduce alcohol-related harm by helping people make better choices about their drinking.
The Kentucky Distillers’ Association (KDA) has been keepers of the Kentucky bourbon tradition since 1880. The KDA is responsible for promoting and protecting all things Bourbon, from taxes to tourism, technical issues, new international markets, responsibility measures, and more.
Fundación de Investigaciones Sociales A.C. (FISAC) is a nonprofit established in 1981 by leading producers of wine and spirits and mass media in Mexico. Brown-Forman is proud to partner with FISAC in support of its mission to contribute to a responsible drinking culture through health education and the promotion of balanced healthy living. FISAC focuses on drunk driving prevention, combating underage drinking, promoting responsible consumption in adults of legal drinking age, and respecting those who choose not to drink.
Fund for the Arts works to maximize the impact of the arts on economic development, education, and quality of life in Louisville, our hometown. Our partnership provides valuable opportunities for our employees to serve on the organization’s Board of Directors, in its NeXt! Leadership program, and to volunteer for the annual workplace campaign.
Metro United Way is a pillar of the Louisville community dedicated to improving education, financial stability, and health for those in need. Brown-Forman has supported Metro United Way for more than 30 years, with our employees serving as board leaders and committee members and leading internal campaigns to raise money for its programs.
Volunteers of America creates positive change in the lives of individuals and communities through a ministry of service that seeks to help our most vulnerable populations struggling with the disease of addiction. We have worked with Volunteers of America Mid-States for over 20 years, helping end homelessness for families through our Louisville Family Housing Services.
