Living a Spirit of Commitment
Our living a spirit of commitment is held up by a heritage over 150 years deep. We work now to make change for tomorrow, and evolve as the world evolves. For Brown‑Forman, for our employees, for our brands, and our partners, today is a pivotal chapter in a story the next generation will continue to write. We hope to inspire them to do it with a force of conviction we can only imagine. What we build now, we build to pass on. It's our commitment.
We dedicate ourselves to our ESG efforts by Living a Spirit of Commitment every day.
Diversity & Inclusion
Environmental Sustainability
Global Community Relations
Alcohol Responsibility
Bolder. Better. Together. These three words capture the essence our business and our culture. This unique and special blend, where we commit to being bolder and better, together, has guided our company for more than 15 decades. It fuels our consistent growth and top-tier returns to shareholders—a proud legacy we plan to deliver well into the future.
Brown‑Forman’s 2022 Scorecard presents data across the areas of alcohol responsibility, environmental sustainability, employee relations and diversity, and community involvement.
Brown‑Forman prioritizes the health, safety, respect, and well-being of all people within our organization, across our operations, and in the communities in which we operate, because people are fundamental to our corporate purpose of Enriching Life. Brown‑Forman is committed to respecting and supporting human rights in our workplace, in our relationships with business partners, and in our communities.
- We are committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions across our owned operations and supply chain in accordance with the United Nations’ 1.5°C scenario. Jack Daniel's works in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority, Duck River Electric Membership Corporation, and Silicon Ranch to provide the distillery with 20 megawatts of solar energy. The agreement will provide nearly three quarters of the distillery’s electricity needs.
- We are dedicated to protecting the health of key watersheds in our communities and creating Net Positive Water Impact in water-stressed basins where we operate. Our targets include 100% of our high-risk and business critical watersheds achieve water balance by 2030.
- Our ten-year D&I strategy, Many Spirits, One Brown‑Forman, includes six strategic imperatives to better focus our actions. Our ambitions include having at least 40 percent female senior leaders globally and 25 percent people of color in the U.S. by 2030. We aim to achieve these ambitions with a mindful and continuous focus on recruiting, retaining, and developing diverse talent. Our goals will continue to expand over time to include other aspects of diversity.
- We focus on cultivating positive impact through our Pause responsibility campaign, responsible marketing, partnerships with organizations like Responsibility.org, and our ongoing support for addiction recovery groups.
- We work with DendriFund to initiate and accelerate a collective effort to bring rye back to Kentucky as a commercial cover crop. This collaborative effort will help conserve farmland and improve soil health and water quality, while also providing a local rye supply for Brown‑Forman, the Kentucky bourbon industry, and others such as bakers and brewers.
- We committed $20 million to the Brown‑Forman Foundation, which provides community investments centered on our hometown, with a special emphasis on improving education and economic development in our west Louisville neighborhood.
- In total, our owned facilities currently divert 99.7% of waste from landfill. We collaborate with DendriFund on white oak and agricultural sustainability to improve regeneration of the trees our cooperages use to make our whiskey barrels.
- Our ten-year strategic plan, Many Spirits, One Brown‑Forman, includes six strategic imperatives to better focus our actions. Our ambitions include having at least 40 percent female senior leaders globally and 25 percent people of color in the U.S. by 2030. We aim to achieve these ambitions with a mindful and continuous focus on recruiting, retaining, and developing diverse talent. Our goals will continue to expand over time to include other aspects of diversity.
- Brown‑Forman donated approximately $2 million to COVID-19 relief efforts around the world with many of our charitable efforts focused on supporting workers in the hospitality industry. We also connected with our neighbors, distributing 70,000 meals and hand sanitizer produced at Brown‑Forman distilleries to community partners in Louisville, Kentucky.