Technology

Heneken’s ESG Compliance: Set Up in a Single Day

Facing mandatory ESG reporting starting in 2026, a recycling corporation, Heneken Group, with entities across Europe, the USA, and Asia, partnered with SmartHead to streamline compliance and amplify their sustainability narrative. Leveraging SmartHead’s intuitive platform and as a bank-recommended solution, the client achieved onboarding in one day, bypassing complex alternatives. The collaboration empowered them to align with stakeholder expectations, simplify data management, and prepare impactful marketing campaigns tied to their core mission: advancing recycling.

“The core of our business is recycling - It’s not a hot topic at first glance, but we want to use SmartHead to show people that there is purpose in what we do—not only for future employees but also our customers and suppliers.”

Matej Slezak, ESG Manager

Challenge

The client, a European recycling leader, operates 16 entities across 3 regions. While deeply committed to environmental impact, they faced:

  • Regulatory Pressure: Mandatory ESG reporting by 2025, with first submissions due in 2026.

  • Stakeholder Alignment: Their main financing bank required ESG data with the same rigor as financial performance.

  • Internal Complexity: Fragmented data across entities and limited in-house ESG expertise.

The ESG lead sought a tool that:

  • Simplified compliance without extensive training.

  • Delivered outputs trusted by their bank.

  • Highlighted recycling efforts to attract customers, employees, and suppliers.

Solution

  • Heneken’s financing bank’s existing confidence in SmartHead helped secure stakeholder support.

  • Sales-to-implementation completed in one day, with flexibility for multi-user access 

  • User-centric reporting features that bring data to life

  • Technical and project management support accelerated adoption.

  • Enabled real-time ESG data for marketing communications.

“SmartHead was a quick win for me—an easy-to-use tool trusted by our bank. They are flexible and helpful, and I like that.”

Matej Slezak, ESG Manager

Results

  • Full implementation within one day vs. industry-standard of a few weeks, with the fastest being 3-5 working days.

  • Bank-approved outputs streamlined financing discussions.

  • Prepared to showcase recycling impact through data-driven storytelling in marketing assets.

  • Reduced manual data aggregation frees up resources for strategic tasks.

  • Aligning ESG metrics with the core recycling mission enhances employee pride and customer loyalty.