The company won the award in the Business Solutions / Climate Protection and Adaptation category thanks to a technology that is estimated to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1,400 tons per year at its brewery in Sopron, contributing significantly to achieving net zero carbon emissions.

The BCSDH is a community of more than 150 CEOs who are working together to accelerate the transformation of the economy towards a renewable, sustainable future. The jury awarded the Sustainable Future Award, established by the organization, to Heineken Hungary in 2025 in the Business Solutions category for the decarbonization program of Heineken’s brewery in Sopron.

For Heineken Hungária, sustainable and responsible operation is one of its most important strategic principles. As part of this, the Sopron brewery is switching to a partially renewable heat energy supply, thereby contributing significantly to the company’s goal for 2030: to reduce carbon emissions from direct operations and purchased energy to net zero. The group’s Net Zero Production program pursues the same goals on a global level, and the Hungarian brewery is one of the pioneering Heineken breweries where implementation is already underway, which has now been confirmed by a prestigious award.

To help achieve its sustainability goals, Heineken is working with Siemens on several international, long-term energy projects. As part of this partnership, an energy recovery system has been created that recycles waste heat generated during beer brewing in the fermentation tanks back into the packaging plant, where it is used for heating instead of steam from a natural gas-fueled power plant. As part of the investment, a high-performance heat pump system has been installed, which uses 12.8 GWh of thermal energy extracted from the fermentation to produce hot water, thus ensuring the decarbonization of the entire packaging process.

As a result of the investment, Heineken Hungária’s brewery in Sopron is estimated to achieve a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 37% by 2025 compared to the 2022 base year. 

Nikos Zois, managing director of Heineken Hungária, emphasized in connection with the award: “Our brewery in Sopron, which is celebrating its 130th anniversary this year, was one of the first Heineken breweries to enter the implementation phase of decarbonization investments, which are essential for achieving our sustainability goals. This large-scale, multi-year project clearly demonstrates that our sustainability investments, which form the basis of our strategy, are deeply embedded in our business activities and operational processes.”

Rozália Göcsejiné Kiss, supply chain director, said: “A proactive strategy focused on mitigating environmental impacts and adaptation is essential to increasing our resilience and ensuring the long-term sustainability of our business and supply chain. We are proud that our efforts in this direction are recognized by the professional community.”