We recognise that water scarcity and quality are important global issues. They are especially pertinent to our business, in light of the water-intensive nature of the beverage industry.

There is increasing demand on water resources to meet the needs of growing world populations, especially in developing countries, where over 1 billion people still lack access to clean, safe water and 2.2 million people die each year from diseases associated with dirty water and poor sanitation.

With a potential gap of 40% between supply and demand by 2030, the scarcity of water represents a potentially significant risk to parts of our business and to some of the communities in which we operate.

As a global business, our parent company, SABMiller, has set a target to reduce water use per litre of beer produced by 25% by 2015.

The water efficiency of brewing operations has improved markedly over the past 25 years, before which it was common for breweries to use up to 30 hectolitres of water to produce a single hectolitre of beer.

Last year, SABMiller used 731 million hectolitres of water in its own beer production processes. This has increased as production volumes have grown. Our average water consumption per hectolitre of beer produced for the last financial year was 4.2 hectolitres, a 3% improvement on the previous 12 months. Since 2008, when we first set our target to reduce water use per hectolitre of beer by 25% by 2015, our water efficiency has improved by 8%.

In addition to the actions our sister companies are taking in terms of brewing efficiency, Miller Brands aim to raise awareness of water issues with our employees - whether through heightened knowledge of our company initiatives or practical interventions, such as turning off taps properly, that can make a real difference to the consumption of water resources.

You can read more about the SABMiller commitment to reduce its water use by 25% by 2015, as well as case studies from across the world, by clicking here or following the links on the left.