Responsib’All Day 2012: 18 000 Pernod Ricard Employees Stop Their Activities for 24 Hours to Educate Young Adults on Responsible Consumption

The second Responsib’All Day coincides with the publication of a worldwide compilation of multiple international studies on Alcohol & Youth conducted by Dr. Jean Pascal Assailly and the release of the European ESPAD study (issued June 1)

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:

“Young people have different ways of drinking than their ascendants. Whilst alcohol consumption has reduced 12% over the past 30 years, alcohol units consumed at a single occasion have increased”

Paris, June 7^th, 2012

In its second edition, Pernod Ricard’s (Paris:RI) Responsib’All Day’ mobilizes all its employees on the 5 continents, in major cities from Sydney to Shanghai, New Dehli, Tokyo, Sofia, Johannesburg and Sao Paulo in a 24-hour day of action. This action-day supports multiple international initiatives undertaken by the company in, tackling this issue for many years. Thanks to programs such as ‘Prata Om Alkohol’ (Sweden), ‘No Ikki’ (Japan), the Erasmus partnership ‘Responsible Party’ (Europe) and ‘Just Enough’ (Brazil), nearly half a million young adults have already been taught about responsible drinking.

A range of exhibitions, forums with local authorities and non-profit organisations, as well as educational programs are deployed on this day in more than 70 countries.

Every employee is provided with simple educational tools such as tailored pocket brochures to guide them and any other person interested in fighting inappropriate consumption, to address the topic of ‘Alcohol and Youth’ with their families, friends and in their social environment. The 18 000 Pernod Ricard employees will have directly and personally briefed 100 000 individuals.

The 2012 ‘Responsib’All Day’ coincides with the publication today of a worldwide compilation of multiple international studies on Alcohol & Youth conducted by Dr. Jean Pascal Assailly and the release of the European ESPAD study (issued the June 1).

Dr Assailly explains: “Young people have different ways of drinking than their ascendants. Whilst alcohol consumption has reduced 12% over the past 30 years, alcohol units consumed at a single occasion have increased”. Assailly’s conclusion is that education is more efficient in combating inappropriate consumption than is restriction “Our aim should be three-fold: delay the age of the first drink, decrease the amount of alcohol consumption of young adults and decrease the frequency of drunkenness.”

Pierre Pringuet, Chief Executive Officer of Pernod Ricard, comments: “We have been promoting responsible drinking for more than 30 years. Today all our employees are mobilized to help make things change. As a company, we are resolutely dedicated to strengthen our engagement with public authorities and NGO to fight inappropriate drinking habits.”

CSR has always been and remains a strong engagement for Pernod Ricard. The Group has been committed to preventing risks associated with alcohol abuse since the 1971 foundation of IREB (French Institute of Scientific Research and Study on Drink). Its annual global awareness day, the ‘Responsib’All Day,’ is the outcome of active involvement throughout the world in partnership with public authority partners, NGOs and others. Last year, thanks to the overwhelming employee engagement during the ‘Responsib’All Day’, the initiative ‘Safe Roads 4 Youth’, aiming to implement preventive actions on “Drinking and driving” with young adults, was put in place. It has already been rolled out in South Africa, Argentina and Vietnam and will be monitored and assessed by independent scientists.

“Any abusive or inappropriate consumption of products may have adverse effects on our consumers’ health and is contrary to our values and the Group’s ethos,” adds Armand Hennon, Pernod Ricard Vice-President, Public Affairs, France: “Our message is clear: ‘No alcohol if you are underage, not too much if you are of legal drinking age’.

Examples of some local current initiatives:

Pernod Ricard is a founding and active member of many SAOs such as Drinkwise and Drinkaware. In addition, Pernod Ricard develops campaigns on its own, such as:

NO IKKI (Japan) campaign launched in November 2011 in Japan in major universities with consistent messages against binge drinking, disseminated to students through educational materials, interactive conferences, alcohol patch test experiments, personal commitments and highly visual tools placed in and around university campuses.

CODE FRIDAY (Malaysia) campaign promotes the message “Be in Control” with the activation theme “Wish you were here”, to invoke memories of loved ones lost in drink-driving fatalities. It also included a call-to-action through social media, a dedicated website and smart phone application.

NOT 18? NO CHANCE! (Slovakia, in partnership with Forum PSR Slovakia). To help bartenders in an interactive and fun way to prevent underage drinking on-trade, the program focused on age-guessing and learning how to refuse an order. It was supported by trainings, workshops, online games and social media interaction.

SAFE SPACE (Scotland, initiated by Chivas). Conversion of a truck to a ‘Safe Space’ operated at night by the Street Pastors and the police with a non-judgmental approach, giving advice on safety, help getting home, onward referral to medical services. During daytime, it transformed into a resource to support education, youth mentoring and healthy lifestyle education.

PRATA OM ALKOHOL (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia). A teachers-program to raise underage knowledge, attitude and behavior towards alcohol through classroom activities and life skills education.

RESPONSIBLE PARTY (Europe, in association with Erasmus). A program helping students to organize safe parties by providing them with prevention materials to promote responsible consumption.

BEBER CON MODERACION (Argentina). Project aiming at raising awareness and sharing knowledge to enable employees, their families and local communities to make healthy and informed choices about their drinking habits.

NA MEDIDA (Brazil). Initiative to raise awareness on the risks of inappropriate alcohol consumption in a fun way and enable young people to take their own decisions allowing for a long term behavior change.

About Pernod Ricard

Pernod Ricard is the world’s co-leader in wines and spirits with consolidated sales of € 7,643 million in 2010/11. Created in 1975 by the merger of Ricard and Pernod, the Group has undergone sustained development, based on both organic growth and acquisitions: Seagram (2001), Allied Domecq (2005) and Vin & Sprit (2008). Pernod Ricard holds one of the most prestigious brand portfolios in the sector: ABSOLUT Vodka, Ricard pastis, Ballantine’s, Chivas Regal, Royal Salute and The Glenlivet Scotch whiskies, Jameson Irish whiskey, Martell cognac, Havana Club rum, Beefeater gin, Kahlúa and Malibu liqueurs, Mumm and Perrier-Jouët champagnes, as well Jacob’s Creek, Brancott Estate (formerly Montana), Campo Viejo and Graffigna wines. Pernod Ricard employs a workforce of nearly 18,000 people and operates through a decentralised organisation, with 6 “Brand Companies” and 70 “Market Companies” established in each key market. Pernod Ricard is strongly committed to a sustainable development policy and encourages responsible consumption. Pernod Ricard’s strategy and ambition are based on 3 key values that guide its expansion: entrepreneurial spirit, mutual trust and a strong sense of ethics. Pernod Ricard is listed on the NYSE Euronext exchange (Ticker: RI; ISIN code: FR0000120693) and is a member of the CAC 40 index. The regulated information related to this press is available on our website: www.pernod-ricard.com