Bars felt the impact caused by the pandemic. When things seemed to be getting better, another crisis came: the energy crisis. In addition, years of a terrible government for economic and environmental topics. Brazil's finances were the worst registered in the last four decades. So the challenge was to help these partners again and do what the president and his ministers didn't do.

With the energy crisis and the Brazilian economic crisis on the rise, Heineken found the solution directly from its operations. A sustainable solution with a positive and real impact on the finances of bars.

The process to make the idea viable involved a partnership with energy distribution companies and bars and restaurants joining the program.

And so that they could get to know and be interested in Beer Power, we created a way of giving them a real taste of Heineken solar energy: Solar Billboard, a billboard made from solar panels connected to fridges inside bars.

Furthermore, we also created geolocalized advertising pieces in the squares where the program was already available, showing how it can help them face these difficult times.

The idea provided bars with a new experience with Heineken. An experience beyond beer.

The initiative reinforced the brand’s commitment with the environment, but mainly as a real and reliable bar partner, who cares about its entire ecosystem, even more in times of crisis.

A major brand effort to turn this operation into a solution. A minimal effort for bars to join the program, and after all, they only needed to register.

If before it many bars were reluctant to switch their operation to a more sustainable model, Heineken helped them to kick off this mentality change. We even sent them a taste of Heineken's clean energy through Solar Billboard.

The project truly brought benefits to our partners. In the first year of the Beer Power Program, we channeled more than 1,000,000.000 kWh to more than 1,700 bars and saved approximately R$ 1.6 million on energy bills. And it's growing right now. There are more than 3,000 bars on the waiting list for 2023/24, and Heineken is expanding the program to more states in Brazil. 100% of the bars connected to Solar Billboards joined the program. Our goal is to have at least 50% of our sales points using solar energy by 2030.

Brazil has been going through one of the hardest times ever. The former president, Jair Bolsonaro, broke off the sustainability agenda, reverting several improvements toward a green energy future. Furthermore, inflation, global warming, and the global crisis have made energy prices rise more than 80% in the last 4 years. People in Brazil were feeling abandoned by the government in both areas: finance and sustainability. And, from an energetic perspective, only 10% of Brazil's energetic matrix was solar, so many Brazilians still had a prejudice against it. So the importance of the solar billboards to the project.