New DRINK SMART Ambassador Program: Internal Certification to Deliver the DRINK SMART Message to More Customers

As part of its responsible drinking awareness activities, the Suntory Group holds DRINK SMART seminars on an ongoing basis to communicate accurate knowledge about alcohol and how to have a healthy relationship with alcohol. We have created an internal certification program for employees to become DRINK SMART Ambassadors and lead the seminars. Nana Hosokawa from the Global ARS^* Department, Risk Management Division, Suntory Holdings, explains the program.

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Acronym for Alcohol Responsibility and Sustainability. As a company decided to the responsible manufacturing and sale of alcoholic beverages, we play an active role in addressing the issues around alcohol-related harms.

New DRINK SMART Ambassador Program: Internal certification to deliver the DRINK SMART message to More Customers

New DRINK SMART Ambassador Certification to Spread the Message of Responsible Drinking

Amid rising public interest in alcohol-related incidents and compliance in recent years, we’ve been receiving more requests from customers to hold DRINK SMART seminars. We started holding these seminars in 2011. While we have had DRINK SMART Ambassadors in the past, we developed a new training program so that more employees would be able to lead DRINK SMART seminars. The new DRINK SMART Ambassador certification program was established in 2022.

A DRINK SMART Ambassador training session. Many employees in sales as well as in other positions participated in the training, which was held in both online and hybrid formats.

An employee receives his certification at the Ambassador certification ceremony. After completing the training, employees need to pass a test to receive their certification.

We are proud to have led the industry in engaging in responsible drinking awareness activities. We had a large number of employees apply to participate in the training program, and 268 employees became new DRINK SMART Ambassadors in November 2022. One skill of Ambassadors is the ability to communicate the DRINK SMART message to customers in their own words. We want to spread a deeper level of accurate knowledge with their help.

Spreading Knowledge about Responsible Drinking in DRINK SMART Seminars

In the seminars, participants learn accurate knowledge about alcohol and how to have a healthy relationship with alcohol, including the mechanisms of alcohol intoxication, genetic differences in alcohol sensitivity, and tips for drinking alcohol. Ambassadors need to update their certification each year, and are given the mission of leading an outside seminar at least once a year. We also plan to focus on creating peer connections to promote greater knowledge-sharing.

An outside DRINK SMART seminar led by a new Ambassador. Some Ambassadors start leading seminars right away the same month they receive their certification. They are proactively spreading knowledge about moderate drinking.

The materials used in DRINK SMART seminars are designed to be easy to understand. Alcohol units are converted into specific examples of “X cans of beer” and “X cups of sake” to give participants a clear idea of alcohol amounts.

Alcohol is where the Suntory Group has its roots. Alcohol is one of diverse lifestyle choice and it’s a fact that drinking to excess can damage one’s health and cause harm to other people. We need to communicate the importance of moderate drinking based on this understanding. We will continue conducting activities to raise public awareness as the responsibility of a company that manufactures alcoholic beverages.