Heineken 100% Circular
Launched Heineken's 100% Circular program with a complete roadmap to circularity by 2030.
Heineken aims to lead the transition to circular packaging and production, positively impacting society and its own resilience. In 2018, a multi-disciplinary team of 17 members from Heineken Nederland, Heineken Nederland Supply, and Except's sustainability experts joined forces to kickstart the Heineken 100% Circular program.
Across an intense 3-day session using Except's Symbiosis in Development (SiD) framework, the team developed a complete roadmap for 100% circularity. The resulting program prioritizes actions, addresses policies, identifies targets beyond material goals, and aligns the entire company toward 2030 sustainability objectives.
The Problem
Dutch and European legislation is cracking down on single-use plastics and non-renewable packaging. Consumer demand for responsible products is accelerating, particularly among younger generations. Heineken needed to move faster than regulation required, gaining competitive advantage rather than merely achieving compliance.
The challenge was to develop a comprehensive circularity roadmap that addresses not just packaging materials, but the entire system of production, distribution, and consumption, while aligning 17 cross-functional team members and multiple business units around shared targets.
Process
SiD-structured intensive sessions
The Symbiosis in Development framework structured three days of intensive collaboration. It helped the team align goals, explore innovations, redesign internal governance, and develop a roadmap that goes beyond material circularity to address the full system.Cross-functional alignment
Seventeen team members from across Heineken's operations, including Nederland, Nederland Supply, and sustainability divisions, worked together to ensure the roadmap reflects operational reality rather than aspirational disconnection.Material flow transition design
Aligned with the material flows impacted by the program, Except designed the transition pathway from current packaging and production processes to fully circular alternatives, with clear milestones and accountability.Outcomes
- Target
- 100% circular
- Complete circularity roadmap for Heineken by 2030
- Team
- 17 members
- Cross-functional collaboration across Heineken divisions
- Framework
- SiD
- Symbiosis in Development methodology for systemic change
- Scope
- Full value chain
- Packaging, production, distribution, and consumption addressed
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