Promote positive drinking

Our commitment to promoting positive drinking is a core pillar of our ‘Society 2030: Spirit of Progress’ action plan. We want to change the way the world drinks for the better. That means promoting moderation and continuing to address the harmful use of alcohol by changing attitudes and expanding our programmes that tackle underage drinking, drink driving and binge drinking.

Promoting moderation and addressing the harmful use of alcohol is not only the right thing to do – it is an essential part of our performance ambition. Our commercial success depends on us creating a positive impact on society, wherever we live, work, source and sell. And, as a premium drinks company, we want people around the world who choose to drink alcohol to drink better, not more – and to trade up to our higher quality, better-tasting drinks.

Our brands have been part of people’s celebrations for generations. We make them with pride – and they are made to be enjoyed responsibly.

The right information empowers consumers to make the right choices and DRINKiQ is one of the most important tools we have in promoting moderation and addressing the harmful use of alcohol such as binge drinking.

We have a long track record of campaigns and programmes to tackle underage drinking and we are committed to educating 10 million young people, parents and teachers on the dangers of underage drinking by 2030.

For decades, we have been addressing drink driving through a range of interventions. As part of our ‘Society 2030: Spirit of Progress’ plan we are committed to promoting changes in attitudes towards drink driving, reaching 5 million people.

Together with UNITAR (United Nations Institute for Training and Research) we have launched our interactive learning experience, The Wrong Side of the Road, allowing people to have a conversation with a drink driver, to understand the effects of alcohol, and the shame and stigma that come with drink driving.

We have a strong track record of ensuring our brands depict and encourage only responsible drinking and our marketing teams continue to promote moderation in new and creative ways. The Diageo Marketing Code  is our mandatory minimum marketing standard which goes beyond what is required by law for alcohol marketing. It governs how we, and anyone we work with, must operate, it applies across all our markets, and it guides every aspect of our marketing activities.

Information is a critical component of empowering consumers to make responsible choices – and DRINKiQ is one of our most important tools in promoting moderation and addressing harmful drinking. DRINKiQ is a dedicated responsible drinking online platform that provides facts about alcohol, the effects of drinking on the body and the mind, and the impact of harmful drinking on individuals and society.

In 2021 we transformed DRINKiQ with new content, design and interactive tools to redefine and improve the way we talk to people about drinking

The new DRINKiQ aims to inspire consumers to take action – inviting them to drink better, not more and to shape a long-term positive change in their attitudes to alcohol. We use tools to frame people’s relationship with alcohol and empower them to achieve a balanced lifestyle. One key new element is the drinking self assessment tool, which aligns with the WHO’s AUDIT tool. ‘AUDIT’ stands for Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, which can help determine whether someone is at risk of problem drinking.

• Champion health literacy and tackle harm through DRINKiQ in every market where we live, work, source and sell

As part of our 10-year action plan, ‘Society 2030: Spirit of Progress’, we are committed to educating 10 million young people, parents and teachers on the dangers of underage drinking by 2030. A key part of this approach is scaling up SMASHED, an award-winning alcohol education programme. Beginning as a theatre-based experience in 2005, we are now reaching even more people than ever before with our digital version, SMASHED Online.

Developed by Collingwood Learning and sponsored by Diageo, this inspiring live theatre experience is presented by professional actors and tours schools, accompanied by interactive workshops for students, resources for teachers, and a parents’ guide.

As part of our ambition to reach a greater number of young people, we developed SMASHED Online. This work was accelerated in response to Covid-19 and the closure of many schools. Launched in 2021 in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, India, Australia and Mexico, we are continuing to develop additional localised versions for other markets.

SMASHED Online offers creative and memorable sessions, and has been developed in consultation with young people.

• Scale up our SMASHED partnership, and educate 10 million young people, parents, and teachers on the dangers of underage drinking

Together with UNITAR we are supporting the second UN Decade of Action for Road Safety.

As part of this we launched a interactive learning experience to help people understand the consequences of drink driving. ‘The Wrong Side of the Road’ allows people to have a conversation with a drink driver to help them understand the effects of alcohol, and the shame and stigma that come with drink driving.

We also collaborate with UNITAR on our flagship high visibility enforcement training programme supporting government authorities and police officers in their work to reduce road traffic accidents as a result of drink driving.

• Extend our UNITAR partnership and promote changes in attitudes to drink driving reaching 5 million people

We have a long history of ensuring our brands are marketed and advertised responsibly and of promoting moderation to our consumers. As part of our ‘Society 2030: Spirit of Progress’ action plan, we have set a goal of reaching 1 billion people with a targeted message of moderation by 2030.

We will uphold this commitment through our responsible marketing principles – celebrating moderation, addressing harmful use of alcohol and providing people with the tools they need to make the right choice about drinking – or not drinking.

The Diageo Marketing Code is our mandatory minimum marketing standard. It governs how we, and any third parties we work with, must operate.

It applies across all our markets, and guides everything we do, from research and development to marketing, promotion, and packaging. At the heart of the Code is ensuring that all our marketing is only ever directed at adults over the legal purchase age, and to encourage drinking in moderation.

Our Digital Code of Practice, which complements the Diageo Marketing Code, also sets out principles for our digital marketing, including ensuring any communication is directed at adults over the legal purchasing age.

Leverage Diageo marketing and innovation to make moderation the norm – reaching 1 billion people with dedicated responsible drinking messaging

The alcohol industry is already one of the most highly regulated in the world. As a responsible business, we support policies that are evidence-based, account for drinking patterns, target at-risk groups, treat all forms of alcohol equally, and involve all stakeholders.

We publicly advocate that governments should adopt a minimum legal purchasing age of not less than 18 and a maximum blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level for drivers of no more than 0.08mg.

We also support lower BAC levels for novice and commercial drivers, high-visibility enforcement of drink driving laws, and alcohol interlocks – breathalysers to stop a car from starting if the driver's blood alcohol level is above a certain limit – for high BAC and repeat drink drivers.

In addition we:

• Advocate effective industry-wide standards in responsible marketing and selling
• Provide helpful information for consumers
• Support effective programmes to tackle alcohol misuse

The WHO's global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol presents a menu of policy options and interventions to address alcohol misuse at a national level. This strategy is becoming even more important as countries seek to reduce non-communicable diseases (NCDs), for which alcohol misuse is one of several risk factors.

In May 2013, the UN adopted a Global Monitoring Framework with a target of reducing mortality from NCDs – including heart disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, and diabetes – by 25% by 2025. One of many associated targets was the reduction of harmful use of alcohol by 10%.

This is a goal we share and that is embedded in every responsible drinking programme we support, every partnership we forge and every campaign we run. We support the balanced and pragmatic approach addressed by the WHO Global Alcohol Strategy and the UN's NCD framework and we work with member states and other stakeholders where we can to achieve these goals.

We are part of an industry-wide programme to encourage the responsible use of alcohol. We were one of 12 leading global producers of beer, wine, and spirits to launch new commitments to reduce harmful use of alcohol in 2012. The members of the IARD work together to actively support the target in the WHO NCD Global Monitoring Framework of “at least 10% relative reduction in the harmful use of alcohol” by 2025.

These commitments cover the following five areas:

• Reducing underage drinking
• Strengthening and expanding marketing codes of practice
• Providing consumer information and responsible product innovation
• Reducing drinking and driving
• Enlisting the support of retailers to reduce harmful use of alcohol

Over the years, we've helped establish many social aspects organisations (SAOs). These are organisations that tackle alcohol misuse and promote responsible drinking. We've worked with SAOs to develop codes of responsible marketing and to raise awareness about responsible drinking.

We are members of the following SAOs and trade associations around the world.

We work with various public and private partners to implement evidence based programmes and policies in order to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goal target of a 10% reduction of harmful use of alcohol by 2030.

The following position papers provide a clear and transparent view of Diageo’s stance on various issues relating to positive drinking.