Diageo pumps millions into water preservation

Drinks giant Diageo, alongside its Tequila brands Don Juli0, DeLeon and Casamigos, has announced a MXN$100 million (£4.6m) investment in water preservation and sanitation schemes in Mexico.

The investment is part of Diageo’s aim to replenish 100% of the water used in water-stressed areas by 2025, which is part of the company’s broader 10-year Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) action plan.. The state of Jalisco, where the agave for Tequila is cultivated, has seen prolonged drought in recent years – in the winter of 2022/23 parts of Mexico received a 10th of the precipitation they might usually, with some regions seeing temperatures climb into the 40s, setting winter heat records for the northern hemisphere. Despite the hardiness of the plant, the climatic conditions have resulted in a notable agave shortage.

Diageo has announced that part of the £4.6m will be used to fund six projects next year, which it claimed will both increase access to water and improve its quality for Jalisco residents.

Earlier this year, the company revealed, some of this funding was used for constructing two artificial wetlands and a tree nursery, in a project which was spearheaded by the Don Julio brand. Diageo estimated that these wetlands will help to improve irrigation for local farmers and clean 268 million litres of wastewater, an amount roughly equal to the volume of 107 Olympic swimming pools.

Alan Loredo, Diageo’s corporate relations director for Mexico and Tequila, told the drinks business: “This investment will allow us to continue and expand our participation in projects focused on building water security and improving access to water in Jalisco communities like Atotonilco El Alto. For example, we will be building a municipal plant nursery and extending the installation of rainwater harvesting systems in schools. We will also continue and extend collective actions with NGOs and third parties in the region.”

“We also support some technical studies and deliver training and workshops needed as part of the process to declare Taretan Park, which a spring that is the main water resource of Atotonilco passes through, as a protected natural area – the first of its kind in the Highlands of Jalisco,” Loredo revealed.

Diageo’s Tequila sales grew by 79% in 2021 and 55% in 2022, a symptom of the boom in global interest in the spirit.

Related reading:

Does Diageo’s fate rest on the shoulders of agave growers?