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AB InBev has announced a partnership with global sustainability solution provider South Pole to establish a renewable electricity group buying initiative. The initiative is part of AB InBev’s efforts to support its value chain decarbonisation by providing its partners with a network to source power purchase agreements (PPAs) across Europe. The group buying programme will also provide access to tailored training on PPA sourcing with the goal to support the procurement of green electricity for AB InBev suppliers and customers across Europe. By combining forces, AB InBev aims to “facilitate market-leading prices and provide a hedge against price volatility,” while securing the necessary volumes of renewable electricity to power the operations of its partners. The initiative aims to make renewable electricity accessible to companies that typically lack the financial resources or have insufficient power demand to contract such agreements. Facilitated by South Pole, the purchase agreements will have the potential of adding new renewable energy generation to national grids across Europe. Scope 3 emissions represented more than 85% of AB InBev's total emissions in 2022, making the programme one of the brewer’s biggest opportunities for emissions reductions. Jason Warner, zone president for Europe at AB InBev, said: “At AB InBev, we are committed to not only driving decarbonisation throughout our own operations, but designing solutions that can deliver meaningful impact across our entire value chain. We know from our own experience that the transition to 100% renewable electricity is a challenging and resource-intensive process. Our partnership with South Pole represents a critical step in our commitment to reducing Scope 3 emissions and will hopefully open the door for many of our customers and suppliers to begin or advance their renewable energy ambitions.” Patrick Horka, global director of renewable energy solutions at South Pole, commented: “South Pole is excited to launch this initiative with AB InBev, which is designed to help the members of the group buying program to take part in the clean energy transition and further their green ambitions without requiring them to develop and operate their own renewable energy projects.” Since 2022, all AB InBev beers brewed in Western Europe – including Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois – have been brewed with 100% renewable electricity.