IAS is pleased to announce the publication of a new report: People, Planet, or Profit: alcohol’s impact on a sustainable future. The report looks at:
- How alcohol production is an impediment to achieving many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- How the alcohol industry uses the SDG agenda and corporate social responsibility to position itself as an engine of development
- The environmental damage alcohol production causes, from using up water in water-stressed regions and destroying biodiversity, to the huge waste it creates
- The human rights abuses of the alcohol industry, particularly in the Global South, and how we need to move towards a human rights-based approach to alcohol harm reduction
IAS’ Head of Policy, Jennifer Keen, said:
“As a society we know that we need to reduce our consumption across products generally, due to the burden on natural resources and biodiversity. However alcohol has a dual harm, as not only does it negatively impact the environment, but also kills millions of people around the world every year.
“So reducing alcohol consumption, through known, evidence-based population measures – such as reducing alcohol’s affordability through an increase in duty – will improve both the health of people and also the planet.”