EABL Bags Awards at Diageo Excellence in Supply Chain Competition

East African Breweries Limited (EABL) bagged three awards in the just concluded Diageo Excellence in Supply Chain Competition in London. The three awards are Brewery of the Year, Market of the Year and Operational Excellence.

While receiving the awards, EABL Group MD, Andrew Cowan congratulated the team for their hard work saying it was a true demonstration of leadership within the Supply Chain Department. “This recognition shows that we are doing things right and the teams are working hard to achieve set goals and targets in order to be the most trusted and respected consumer goods company in Africa,” said Cowan.

The awards also recognised Kenya Breweries Limited’s (KBL) efforts in energy efficiency and water conservation as well as in operational excellence in supply chain.

KBL Supply Chain Director, Patrick Kamugi, attributed the wins to ambitious production targets, which are reduction of water use by 50 percent by 2020, reduction of greenhouse carbon emissions, 100 percent replenishment of water used in final product in water stressed areas and sustainable local raw material sourcing.

Currently, KBL is using an average 4 litres of water to produce a litre of beer, with a target of just three litres by 2020. “Water is an absolutely critical asset for our business so it is essential that we continue to invest in improving how we manage it.  KBL has set a shining example to all Diageo sites in Africa – particularly those that are in water stressed areas – and we are committed to increasing efficiency rates and reducing waste water across the our supply chain,” explained Kamugi.

Two-years ago, KBL in conjunction with Diageo conducted an in-depth analysis of the water situation in key Nairobi watersheds, which identified opportunities to conserve water and reduce the amount of water used in the factory.

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At the same time, Kamugi attributed the award to a robust energy saving strategy, which KBL has been implementing in its production sites. “Our energy saving strategy has been informed by various internal and external factors. First, we analyzed our systems and identified gaps that would later enable as see where to save energy. This was a major game changer for our business as it involved looking into alternative renewable energy sources within our plants and saw us improve combustion efficiency from 85% to 90% as well as improving condensation recovery from 73% to 90%” Kamugi said.