Pernod Ricard, one of the world’s leading wines and spirits companies, will be conducting its 8th “Responsib’ALL Day” on Thursday at the municipalities of Balete and Mataas na Kahoy in Batangas, specifically barangays Poblacion and. Kinalaglagan.
The activity, to be attended by all Pernod Ricard employees, aims to clean up the shoreline of the towns of Balete and Mataas na Kahoy. They will also donate aquaculture kits to Taal Lake fisherfolk to help them assess water conditions for fish growth and water viability.
Water is a key ingredient in all of Pernod Ricard’s products and is the inspiration for the group to organize the cleanup, Alexandre Ricard, the group’s chairman, and CEO, said in a statement.
In cooperation with the local government of Taal, the Taal Lake Conservation Center or Pusod, Inc., the Bato-Balani Foundation and France-Philippines United Action, the coastal cleanup hopes to arrest the degradation of Taal Lake and contribute to its conservation.
To ensure an exhaustive coastal cleanup, Pernod Ricard will utilize motorboats and non-motorized boats during the activity. Teams in motorized boats will catch floating debris with nets, which are drifting farther down the lake. Teams in non-motorized boats will scour the shallow waters and coastline.
The 24,000-hectare Taal Lake Basin is famous for its charm and aquatic animals, the Hydrophis semperi, a freshwater sea snake, and the Sardinella tawilis, a freshwater sardine, both of which are the basis of local commercial fishing.
However, due to several fish kills, the presence of nearby piggeries, huge real estate developments, and the increasing population around the lake, the water quality of Taal has been deteriorating.
The group hopes that efforts like Responsib’All Day will inspire better environmental practices among locals and improvement of the lake’s water quality.
Responsib’ALL Day is an annual event held simultaneously across 85 Pernod Ricard global affiliates, covering 100 international community projects, and participated in by 18,500 employees worldwide bringing “good times from a good place”. It is Pernod Ricard’s unified approach of conveying its commitment and contribution to society.
In this 8th edition of Responsib’ALL Day, the wines and spirits group will address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. As water and biodiversity are keys to Pernod Ricard’s business, the Group will focus on the SDG 15 “Life on land” and on the SDG 6 “Clean water and sanitation.”
Pernod Ricard believes that companies have a responsibility and must be leaders in environmental protection. As such, it signed a partnership with Impact 2030 to bring together actors from the private sector, civil society, and academia to encourage company employees to help to achieve the selected SDGs.
Alexandre Ricard said “there can be no conviviality without responsibility and being ‘créateurs de convivialité’ means above all considering that sustainable value can only truly exist when it is created for the benefit of all. I am proud of all Pernod Ricard employees who act as passionate hosts and respectful guests during their daily business.”
The Group’s 100 Responsib’All Day sustainability projects are wide and varied across the world. In Paris and the Cognac region of France, compost bins and insect houses will be built to increase biodiversity.
In California, USA, volunteers will maintain a network of sustainable trails throughout the Sonoma County. In Portugal, employees will reforest areas affected by October 2017 wildfires.
In addition to the 100 projects, the Group is working with Trash Tiki, a unique cocktail bartending duo who creates cocktail recipes made from food scraps from bars and restaurants.
Using their recipes, all affiliates in 85 countries are enjoined to collaborate with local bars to get their unused ingredients and launch an “anti-waste” Responsib’ALL Day cocktail party to cap off the Group’s global initiative.