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Cape Town - A number of beer, wine and spirits producers announced their commitment to the responsible retailing of alcohol during the World Retail Congress Africa in Cape Town on Tuesday.
The CEOs who signed the Guiding Principles for Responsible Retailing of Beverage Alcohol include those of SABMiller, Pernod Ricard, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Diageo and Bacardi.
The first principle is that retailers must enforce the minimum legal purchase age laws as this can contribute to the reduction of alcohol-related harm. The second principle is to undertake efforts to minimize binge or excessive drinking at retail establishments as a means of reducing alcohol-related harm.
Thirdly, the guidelines look at how activities in the drinking environment can promote road safety and fourthly it looks at the characteristics of the drinking environment and how it can promote responsibility and minimise harm.
"We all have a shared job to do," said Charl Bassil, marketing director of Pernod Ricard SA, at the launch. "Retailers are a conduit between our brands and our retailers. It is time to step up the game in our shared responsibility."
In his view the ultimate success in this area would be for producers, government, retailers and NGOs to work together and create a common way of doing business. He congratulated the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD) for its role in the process.
