Heineken: 100% Circular
The Challenge
Heineken Netherlands faced a shifting landscape. Customer demands for responsible products were intensifying. Dutch and European legislation was cracking down on single-use plastics and non-renewable packaging. The question was not whether to change, but how fast, and how far.
Heineken needed more than incremental improvements. They needed a systemic strategy to achieve 100% circularity and energy-neutral operations, one that would touch every part of their value chain, from procurement to production to packaging.
Applying SiD
Except assembled a multi-disciplinary team of 17 members from Heineken Nederland, Heineken Nederland Supply, and Except's sustainability experts. Together, they used the Symbiosis in Development (SiD) framework to conduct a focused three-day intensive session, followed by a year of detailed planning.
The SiD approach enabled the team to think systemically rather than in silos. Instead of addressing waste, energy, and packaging as separate problems, SiD connected these domains into a single coherent picture. The team used system mapping to visualize resource flows, identify leverage points, and discover where circular solutions could create cascading positive effects across the operation.
The process followed SiD's structured methodology:
- Goals and Indicators: defining measurable circularity and energy targets aligned with Heineken's 2030 ambitions
- System Mapping: charting material, energy, and waste flows across operations
- System Understanding: identifying intervention points where systemic change would yield the greatest returns
- Solutioning and Roadmapping: co-creating actionable projects and a phased transition plan
Outcomes
The program produced a complete roadmap prioritizing actions across policies, practices, and sustainability targets through 2030. Goals extended well beyond materials to encompass:
- Transition to 100% renewable energy
- Climate positivity and biodiversity enhancement
- Water conservation and waste elimination
- Employee well-being, connectivity, and inspiration
The initiative generated more than a dozen innovative sub-projects tackling circular waste challenges. These ranged from eliminating single-use plastics at festivals to redesigning promotional materials for full recyclability. Each sub-project addressed a specific leverage point identified through the systemic analysis.
As the team reflected: "Thinking systemically helped us align goals, explore innovations, redesign internal governance, and develop a new roadmap." The SiD framework transformed what could have been a fragmented set of green initiatives into an integrated strategy with compounding benefits.
Key SiD Methods Used
- System Mapping of operational resource flows
- ELSI framework for comprehensive sustainability goal-setting
- Co-creation workshops for roadmap development
- Circular economy integration across value chain