Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited (GGBL) on Tuesday 08 April, 2014 presented its Local Raw Material (LRM) programme as best practice to the participants of the McGill Executive programme on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Strategy and Management.

The event took place at the Alisa Hotel in Accra.

The 6-day programme was aimed at equipping students and CSR practitioners with world class knowledge and best practice in corporate social responsibility to enable them turn challenges into opportunities whilst creating value for shareholders and all stakeholders. 

The programme was led by Professor Wayne Dunn who heads the CSR Training Institute at the McGill University Institute for the Study of International Development based in Montreal Canada.

Sharing GGBL’s transformational case study on ‘Creating value through the value chain through the use of Local Raw Materials’, Preba Greenstreet, Corporate Relations Director, GGBL noted that since the passage of the LRM Act in November 2012, Guinness Ghana has gradually moved from 12% of local raw material usage to 38% within 2 years.

“We have achieved this by making real commitments to the local sourcing agenda, launching Ruut Extra Premium Beer, Ghana’s first cassava beer and continuing to utilise locally sourced raw materials across our production.  By ensuring value along the entire chain we are assured of its sustainability which enables us to consistently delight our consumers with the right product at the best quality and price”, she added.

She said the strategy provides a win-win situation for all involved – government, local farmers and our business – making it a true case of sustainable value creation model.  

Professor Wayne Dunn, Executive Director of the CSR training institute, said , “when I run these programme, I look for innovative local companies that are finding ways to align the interest of the company with the interest of other key stakeholders.  Ruut Beer is a world class example of how a company is able to achieve more of what it wants - such as lower supply cost, reduced impact of currency fluctuation and at the same time building value in local communities and developing supply chain logistics that are transferrable to other industries and products.  GGBL has helped to develop capacity and infrastructure in agriculture and other areas and this presentation demonstrates the world class position that the Company has taken.”

Commenting on the LRM presentation, Hon Rashid Pelpuo, Minister of State in charge of Private Sector Development and Private Public Partnerships said “I like GGBL’s CSR initiative – empowering communities and targeting the value chain activities that will enhance the product further and my office is ready to support such companies who bring requests to remove any bottlenecks that are hindering their free operation”.

 Dr. Kojo Busia, a participant and Senior Governance Advisor at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa added, Guinness Ghana presents a unique example of innovation, effective and comprehensive approach to CSR that addresses the entire supply chain in terms of value creation – urging the extractive sector to emulate same.