‘I am passionate about environmental stewardship and acknowledge that companies like CUB have a part to play in driving this,’ CUB’s Sustainability Manager Kirsten Sturzaker tells us, as we sit down to discuss the events and programs that CUB is running for World Environment Day and their overall sustainability goals.

Having joined the company two years ago as a Trade Activation Manager, Kirsten took on the task of driving the 2025 sustainability initiatives for CUB last July. ‘I work across our business on building and implementing the sustainability strategy  that will enable us to achieve our 2025 sustainability goals, which are Climate Action, Circular Packaging, Water Stewardship and Smart Agriculture.’ You can read more about these priorities on the Better World section of this website.

World Environment Day, which is celebrated each year on June 5th encourages worldwide awareness and action to protect our environment.  The 2019 theme invites us to consider how we can change our everyday lives to reduce the amount of air pollution we produce, and thwart its contribution to global warming and its effects on our own health.

To celebrate and engage the wider business on World Environment Day, CUB has a range of activities planned, Kirsten explains, ‘To help us embrace the focus of this year’s World Environment Day we are running internal competitions to showcase new ideas for how we can reduce our carbon emissions. We are also providing employees with tips on how they can reduce their carbon emissions whether it is catching public transport or riding to work or making sure they turn off electronics and lights when not in use.’ And it’s not just air pollution that CUB members are tackling.  According to Kirsten, CUB employees from all areas of the company are also volunteering for clean-up days along the waterways near CUB breweries across Australia.

However, sustainability is something that CUB is committed to every day, and this is reflected in the organisation’s ambitious 2025 sustainability goals one of these being around Climate Action where the business is striving for a 25% reduction in carbon emissions across the entire value chain and committing to running on 100% purchased renewable electricity.

For instance, Kirsten tells us, ‘We are currently installing solar panels on each of our brewery roofs to achieve 100% purchased renewable electricity by 2025. We are also working on projects to increase the recycled content packaging across glass bottles and cans.’  These are just a couple of examples of the sorts of practices being implemented at CUB with the aim of mitigating its impact on, preserving and improving the environment.

As Sustainability Manager, it is Kirsten’s role to champion sustainability across the business, but this is an organisation-wide challenge that she isn’t tackling alone. With her role working out of Procurement, Kirsten works closely with all relevant managers, who have sustainability targets as part of their roles to ensure we they sourcing from and partnering with suppliers to achieve these goals together.

Alongside this, CUB has formed the Better World Committee to support and drive this across the business. ‘Made up of more than 40 volunteers across the business who are bringing new ideas and helping to implement projects linked to our sustainability goals,’ Kirsten explains.

‘I feel responsible for the environment that surrounds me and want to ensure that it stays productive and, as far as possible, pristine for generations to come,’ Kirsten says. In addition to this vision for the future, Kirsten acknowledges another reason it makes sense for CUB to be involved in sustainability issues. ‘Like most of us at CUB, I love beer and I know that if we want to continue producing high-quality beer, for the next 180 years to come, we need to have a clean environment to do so.’

For the last 5 months, Shruti Pal has been taking care of customers in the Southbank and CBD areas as a Beer Partner and Business Development Executive in the Beer Collective Co. team.  This year, Shruti took part in her first ever Good Beer Week and let us take a peek behind the scenes at what exactly this involved and how she found the experience.

Good Beer Week, now in its eighth year, attracts over 75,000 attendees to more than 300 separate events held throughout the week. Shruti was excited about the opportunity to be involved and we asked her the role she played. ‘What did I do? Well, essentially, I poured beer! I was one of the leads pouring beer at our Goose Island stall at the Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular festival.’ This event gave patrons the opportunity to try new and limited-edition beers, including Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, as well as some award-winning favourites. ‘I loved seeing the lengths people were willing to go to for the chance to try our limited Bourbon County Stout. Apparently, and I think for good reason, it was rated as one of the best stouts at the festival this year,’ Shruti explained.

As one of the team’s customer-facing members, Shruti got firsthand experience with the diverse crowd that GBW attracts each year. She was surprised by the fact that it didn’t just consist of dedicated beer drinkers. ‘I was expecting to see more people from the beverage industry but what surprised me was the energy around the festival. It attracted not only the beer nerds, but also a lot of people who weren’t that into beer. I had wine enthusiasts and cider drinkers visit the Goose Island stall, keen to try out our Sour Sisters. It was great to be able to tell them about this style of beer and always amazing to see the surprise on their faces when they tried it.’ Dealing with consumers was the best part of the festival for Shruti. ‘I loved interacting with everyone and I was able to collect some amazing feedback about different brews the patrons were tasting at our stall, and also at others.’

As well as being a great deal of fun, the festival also provided Shruti ample educational opportunities. ‘It was a great chance to get to know what styles are currently trending in the market and what beer styles brewers are intending to trial in the future. This is information that I can put to use in my everyday role.’

The fact that she comes from a non-brewing background did present a few challenges for Shruti. ‘The biggest challenge for me was to clearly understand the nuances of the different brews we were pouring. As you can imagine, the beer festival attracts a huge number of beer enthusiasts who are filled with curiosity and knowledge. They want to know everything about the beer they choose to drink so, for me, understanding the nuances was critical to providing them with a great beer experience.’

With so many events on offer, attendees were spoilt for choice when it came to things to see and do. For Shruti, one of the highlights was the beer and food matching. ‘It was good to see that it wasn’t just about beer drinking. There was a real focus on food and beer matching at the festival, which was really interesting. But I must say I was surprised to see a full information session on beer and cheese matching. Who knew it was even a thing?’

Asked to sum up her Good Beer Week experience, Shruti said, ‘All in all, it was a fun and an entertaining week with heaps to learn about beer and the chance to meet lots of interesting people. It gave me a great perspective on the latest market trends in the world of beer and an exclusive opportunity to network.’

And does she have any advice for other first-timers at GBW? ‘I highly encourage people to get involved if they can in the 2020 Good Beer Week, especially if you’ve never done it before,’ Shruti says. ‘It really is a unique experience that you can draw on as a professional in the beverage industry – you’ll learn a lot but you’ll also have a ton of fun while doing it!’

On Wednesday 15 May at our IDAHOBIT (International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia) morning tea, 28 CUB employees were officially inducted into the Ally Program.  Each of the Allies completed training with Pride in Diversity in the last quarter of 2018 aimed at arming them with the knowledge and tools they would need, to be sources of support for fellow CUB employees.  To find out more about what being an Ally means and how CUB employees are embracing diversity and inclusion, we spoke with Lana Doyle, National Account Manager for IBA, the co-lead of CUB’s LAGER Network, and a newly appointed Ally.

As co-lead of the LAGER Network Lana helps to organise events, as well as engaging with external stakeholders such as Pride in Diversity and Out for Australia, to increase CUB’s support for the broader LGBTIQ community. ‘We are an employee-run group and our goal is to create a supportive environment for everyone, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. We raise awareness by celebrating LGBTIQ days of significance, running training sessions and hosting guest speakers.  For instance, last September Jason Ball, founder of the Pride Cup, shared his story of tackling homophobia in sport with CUB.’

The Ally Program was born out of a desire to provide an opportunity for more employees to get involved in showing their support for LBGTIQ individuals and the issues that affect them. ‘The aim was to make LGBTIQ inclusion something that everyone could be involved in. There are so many supporters who are willing to make a difference and we wanted to bring everyone along on the journey towards making CUB an even more welcoming, safe and supportive environment,’ Lana explains.  ‘The role of an Ally is to attend LGBTIQ awareness training, which we ran last year, and to show leadership by being publicly supportive of sexual diversity. Allies display stickers at their workstations to identify themselves as Allies, and they act as role models for non-discriminatory practices and language in the workplace.’  

So who exactly can be an Ally? ‘Anyone!’ says Lana. ‘The positions are open to all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. An Ally supports LGBTIQ inclusion and is an agent of change who challenges homophobia and heterosexism.’ However, Lana reminds us that this policy of open acceptance does mean that it’s important for employees to understand that Allies are not necessarily experts in LGBTIQ issues and may or may not be from the LGBTIQ community.

IDAHOBIT is celebrated today, the 17 of May.  At Wednesday’s morning tea, CUB’s D&I Committee Co-Chair and VP of Sales, Rose Scott, spoke briefly about the day as she presented the new Allies with stickers that symbolise inclusivity and acceptance for all CUB employees. ‘This was an opportunity to acknowledge IDAHOBIT, while reiterating the importance of fostering a safe and inclusive work environment,’ Lana tells us.

‘At CUB, diversity and inclusion means creating a high-performance culture by attracting and developing the best talent and creating a supportive environment in which all our people can perform at their best.’ Lana goes on to explain that commitment to these values involves more than just talking about them.  It means taking action. ‘While we believe that leveraging people’s diverse attributes will give us deeper insights into consumer needs and enhance relationships with all our stakeholders, we also put diversity and inclusion into action throughout CUB.  Great examples include the revised parental leave policy, the promotion of workplace flexibility, unconscious bias training for managers, the AMBER League, and the celebration of cultural days of significance. And of course there is also the LAGER Network and our freshly inducted Allies.’

With just over four years at CUB, Lana is passionate about the company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. ‘I feel strongly that we need to help create the world we want to live in, and for me there is still stigma in our society, not only regarding LGBTIQ inclusion but also relating to gender equality, race and disability’, Lana explained, when asked why she has become part of the Ally Network and taken a lead role in the LAGER Network.  ‘I think it’s important for people to challenge their own biases and comfort zones, and become more aware of the impact of their behaviour on those around them. Being part of the LAGER network and the Ally program provides me a platform from which to encourage this thinking among my colleagues at CUB. Being able to contribute to such positive change is incredibly rewarding.’

At CUB, there is more than one way to get where you’re going when it comes to your career, and Kiel Smith and Emilia Babic are excellent examples of this   As National Business Managers they might have the same role now, but they’ve taken very different paths to get here and each has distinct goals in terms of where they would like to go.

Joining CUB straight out of university in a consumer relations role, Kiel knew immediately that the company was the right place for him. ‘From a young age I understood the importance a nation places on its brewing heritage. Whether it’s Anheuser-Busch in the USA, SAB in South Africa or CUB in Australia, each brewery inspires national pride. This pride, together with the emotional connection I already had with CUB’s products due to my own experiences and those of my friends, meant I knew this was the place I wanted to work in.’

Within 12 months of joining the company, Kiel moved into a sales role as a Business Development Executive (BDE). ‘The move to sales gave me the opportunity to manage accounts for the independent retailers, pub owners and licensed clubs.’ Kiel’s career trajectory since then has seen him move from BDE to a role as Key Account Manager and then as National Account Manager before taking up his current role.  Kiel had his eye on the prize and was focused on targeting the role of National Business Manager for 18 months prior to being promoted. He says, ‘I knew it would require a higher level of strategy development, negotiation competence and leadership skills than I had. I built a personal development plan to ensure I developed those skills and set myself up for success when an opportunity opened up.’

On the other hand, Emilia’s career journey started in the finance industry.  It was her search for a fast-paced environment that led her to make the shift to FMCG, a move that took her to Chicago before she returned to Melbourne to join CUB as Senior Commercial Business Partner – Woolworths. ‘This first role with CUB saw me working across both the Dan Murphy’s and BWS businesses, working with the sales team to deliver a strong trading program partnering with Australia’s largest retail liquor customer,’ Emilia told us.

It was this role that ignited her passion for sales. ‘My love of sales emerged later in my career, growing out of my partnership with the sales function in this first role. I loved the fast pace, the intensity and the accountability in sales, as well as the fact that decisions made by the sales teams always translated into genuine impact.’ So, two-and-a-half years after joining the CUB team in finance, Emilia made the cross-functional move to sales, stepping into the role of National Business Manager for Dan Murphy’s. ‘When the opportunity to move into sales came my way, I surprised myself with how excited I was. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason and that you should never say no to an opportunity, no matter how much it might challenge you. Being thrown in the deep end is how I learn best!’

Now, as National Business Managers, Emilia and Kiel are both looking towards the next steps in their careers and their respective future roles at CUB. ‘My next goal is to lead a sales region and I would also like to broaden my knowledge of brewing and production,’ says Kiel.  Emilia, meanwhile, has her eyes set on on-premises sales: ‘I’ve spent most of my career on the retail side of the business, both in my role now and in my finance partnering roles. On-premise is where we build brands and I’d love to be a part of that.’  Just as they arrived in the same place via different routes, Kiel and Emilia look set to continue to forge distinct – but equally rewarding – career paths moving forward.

Most Australians would be familiar with the iconic advertising campaigns for VB, which ran on Australian television for more than 40 years and featured hard-working men who had ‘a big cold thirst’, which of course necessitated ‘a big cold beer’. The imagery of these ads is stamped into our collective memory: men working in mines, men working on road crews, men working in breweries. Beer – both the consumption and the brewing of – has long been the domain of men and the advertising campaigns of VB traditionally, men made the beer and men drank the beer.

These days, however, things are changing. One of the reasons for this is that more women are now choosing to work in beer, disrupting the industry and helping to write a new narrative from within.  What inspired them to take on the challenge of being a woman in beer? We spoke with some of them working to create change at CUB and asked them, ‘Why do you work in beer?’

‘Women make up half the population, women drink beer, and getting more females enjoying beer is one of the greatest growth opportunities for the beer category,’ says Assistant Brand Manager at Pure Blonde, Amy Pollock-Hall. ‘However, beer marketing and communications still speak largely to a male audience from a male perspective. As a marketer, I feel that working in beer gives me an opportunity to ensure that we’re not only including women in our strategy as a standard, but also talking specifically to women and being more inclusive generally. We still have a long way to go, but it’s exciting to be driving some change in the way we market our products.’

Amy’s drive to create change has found a home in an industry largely fuelled by passion, and it is the way in which this enthusiasm drives development and transformation that has kept Zeenath Mansoor, Excellence Program and Business Cycles Lead, in the industry for more than a decade. ‘The beer industry is a passionate one and at CUB we all share an enthusiasm for our brands and for sustainability when creating our products. And, most importantly to me, we share a passion for making a difference in people’s lives. We encourage enjoying beer while always drinking responsibly. Being part of the process that delivers a product that people enjoy so much is incredibly satisfying for me, and being able to see the difference that my contribution makes is so rewarding.’

Like Zeenath, Paige Dawes, formerly Marketing Manager – Cider, relishes the fact that her chosen career allows her to play a crucial role in bringing pleasure into people’s lives. The attachment people have to their preferred brands presents an opportunity too good to pass up for a growing number of women like Paige, who says, ‘Working on brands like VB and Carlton Draught, brands that have shaped Australian culture for more than 150 years, that consumers love so much they are willing to get the logos tattooed on their bodies, is a marketer’s dream.’ Since we spoke with Paige she has taken another step in her career, moving to New York with AB InBev.

Great Northern Brewing Co. Senior Marketing Manager Antonia Ciorciari agrees. ‘People really love beer and love our brands. Working in the industry helps you appreciate how beer really does add to the enjoyment in people’s lives.’

There are many reasons women choose to work in beer but as more of them take on the diverse roles, the challenges and the opportunities that this industry offers, there will continue to be change. The beer industry is transforming and hopefully those traditional male-dominated beer campaigns will eventually be relics of a distant past. With more women working in beer, and an increasing awareness of the fact that women of all ages and backgrounds enjoy drinking beer, we can look forward to more inclusive working environments and more representative marketing campaigns in the industry. It’s an exciting time for anyone to be involved in such a dynamic industry, but especially for women like those we spoke to, whose work reflects the contemporary reality of being both enthusiastic consumers and talented producers of beer.