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Diageo introduces drones to drive farming efficiency and environmental benefits across tequila farming in Mexico

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Drones in tequila farming to build data on agave plants to drive better farming decisions, reduce water and fertilizer use and decrease the use of vehicles to reduce carbon emissions Drones work in partnership to collect data on agave plants, identify when the crops need support and dispense the required amount of a unique water fertilizer mix Supports the continued growth of Diageo’s tequila business and progress towards Diageo’s ESG action plan, Society 2030: Spirit of Progress

LONDON, April 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Diageo, producer of Don Julio and Casamigos tequilas, continues to innovate and has introduced the use of drones on its agave farms in Jalisco, Mexico, following up a successful pilot conducted in 2022. This has enabled Diageo to upskill its agave planters for the future of the ever-growing tequila industry, and build their digital capability in flying the drones, integrating more efficient farming practices and drive environmental benefits.

Since mid-2022, drones have been in action to identify which agave plants need the pesticide and fertilizer water mix and how much, to ensure precious water resources are used only where needed, whilst driving efficiency across agave farming.  Agave plants are the key ingredient in making tequila.

The drones work in pairs: one to identify the plants that need attention and collect data on the growth of the agave plants, and the other dispenses a unique water fertilizer and pesticide mix where needed at night when the stomata is open. The collection of data has helped the agave planters to make better decisions on resource use.

The data has also shown the best time of day to feed the plants is the early hours of the morning when its cooler, there is less wind to reduce water loss and when the agave plant is more receptive to water. This has resulted in water use dropping by an expected two thirds, an important saving of precious resources. The drones have the capacity to fly over Diageo’s agave fields, so fewer tractors are needed to be driven across the farmland, which has a secondary benefit of reducing carbon emissions.

Ewan Andrew, Chief Sustainability Officer, said: “As the demand for tequila continues to grow, we want to be able to increase our farming efficiency, but in a way that is also kind to the planet. This initiative is a perfect example of the two coming together. It’s an exciting way in which we’re using technological innovation to boost production, upskill our famers, and help us to meet our 2030 sustainability goals.”

The use of the drones has also enabled agave planters to spend their time continuing to plant and nurturing the new agave. In Diageo’s half-year results announced in January 2023, the company reported its tequila business grew 28%, securing its position as the number one producer of tequila in the world1.

Wellington Pauperio, Director for Supply Tequila & Mezcal at Diageo commented: “We’re incredibly proud to be pioneering the use of drones across our agave farming, to improve efficiency in our agriculture operations while leading our industry innovation and technology adoption. This initiative also brings additional capabilities for our team, new opportunities for personnel in the communities we operate, and contributes to a more sustainable world by reducing the use of resources including water mix across our plantations. It has been a great cross-team collaboration for us to reach this point, and the results are speaking for themselves as we look into a better future.” 

The efficiency and precision agriculture efforts resulting from drone use, contribute to Diageo’s 2030 ESG action plan, Society 2030: Spirit of Progress. Within the plan, Diageo has committed to preserve the natural resources on which our long-term success depends including to reduce its water use in water-stressed areas by 40% by 2030, and by 30% in all other areas.

To find out more on Diageo’s sustainability action and commitments visit diageo.com

1.  IWSR 2022

Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands across spirits and beer categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, JεB and Buchanan’s whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray and Guinness.

Diageo is a global company, and our products are sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the London Stock Exchange (DGE) and the New York Stock Exchange (DEO). For more information about Diageo, our people, our brands and performance, visit us at www.diageo.com. Visit Diageo’s global responsible drinking resource, www.DRINKiQ.com, for information, initiatives and ways to share best practice.

Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9yuW6t7PVA

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SOURCE Diageo

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PASHA Holding forges global connections at COP29

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — PASHA Holding, a leading Azerbaijani company, successfully participated at COP29, reaffirming its dedication to climate action. As an Impact Partner at the event, PASHA Holding actively engaged in meaningful discussions, collaborated with global stakeholders, and shared its vision for a sustainable future.

The holding’s presence included a tailored booth in the Green Zone, alongside multiple thought-provoking sessions led by PASHA Holding companies, including PASHA Bank, Kapital Bank, PASHA Insurance, PASHA Life, AgroDairy, and PASHA Real Estate. These sessions addressed critical issues such as climate finance, sustainable agriculture, and the role of private sector leadership in fostering inclusive green transitions.

Through its participation, PASHA Holding leveraged the opportunity to exchange ideas, build relationships with regional and global peers, and learn from diverse experiences in tackling climate challenges. By engaging with stakeholders from government, international organizations, and the private sector, PASHA Holding enhanced its capacity to drive sustainable development initiatives in Azerbaijan and beyond.

Aytaj Mukhtazada, Head of PR and Communications at PASHA Holding, remarked:

COP29 has been an extraordinary platform for us to amplify our sustainability vision and forge valuable connections. The insights gained and partnerships established here will enable us to align our strategies with global climate objectives while addressing the unique needs of our region. This experience underscores the importance of collaboration in creating impactful, long-term solutions to the challenges we all face.”

Key elements of PASHA Holding’s sustainability strategy include minimizing the environmental impact of its own operations, investing in projects that support the transition to net zero, and investing in technological innovation to address the challenges presented by climate change. In the near future, the group plans to conduct comprehensive diagnostics and gap analysis across its subsidiaries to set specific goals to decrease our carbon footprint, including supply chain, support the customers in their transition journeys and increase investments in green initiatives. Additionally, PASHA is committed to empowering its stakeholders through education and collaboration, ensuring that sustainability is embedded across the wider economy. These plans include supporting the development of a sustainable SME landscape in the country, aiding farmers in their green transition, and supporting innovation for developing decarbonization solutions.

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SOURCE PASHA Holding

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Global Times: China vows to promote steady growth of foreign trade

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BEIJING, Nov. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Officials from five Chinese departments including the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the People’s Bank of China vowed to promote the steady growth of foreign trade at a press conference held on Friday in a move experts said is part of a package of policy measures to inject impetus and confidence into stabilizing the economy and help realize its annual economic targets.

Meanwhile, at the same press conference, the vice commerce minister highlighted China’s capacity in dealing with external shocks in the first explicit, publicly known response by a senior commerce official to the impact of the US’ potential 60 percent tariffs on Chinese imports. He stressed tariffs will only lead to high costs for consumers, and a stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-US economic and trade relations will benefit peoples of both countries and the world.

The press conference came after MOFCOM, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the People’s Bank of China and the General Administration of Customs rolled out nine measures to support foreign trade, involving support and guidance in insurance, financing, cross-border trade settlement, expanding scope on imports and exports, optimization of trade structure, visa facilitation and transportation.

Analysts noted that the latest move will further enhance the confidence of Chinese foreign trade enterprises, thereby injecting a stable and strong impetus to economic development, helping the country navigate the complexities of the global market.

Policy support

During the press conference, Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen noted that the policy is aimed at responding to changes in the international trade situation and promoting solutions to practical difficulties faced by foreign trade enterprises in financing and maritime transport.

The raft of policy measures aimed at promoting the steady growth of foreign trade was deliberated and adopted by a State Council executive meeting on November 8.

The Ministry of Commerce on Thursday unveiled the policy measures in a notice. Among the nine specific measures, financial institutions are encouraged to increase financing support for micro, small and medium-sized companies based on market-oriented and law-based principles.

Efforts should be made to optimize cross-border trade settlement, promote the development of cross-border e-commerce, expand agricultural product exports, and support the imports of key equipment and energy resources, said the notice.

The overall situation of China’s foreign trade is relatively optimistic, but at the same time we should also see that uncertainties continue to accumulate. Maintaining stable growth in foreign trade and sustained improvement in competitiveness cannot be separated from policy support, Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said on Friday.

“The timely joint efforts by five Chinese departments enhanced the confidence and expectations of Chinese foreign trade enterprises, and the measures will effectively help address problems of current foreign trade and future uncertainties,” Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times on Friday.

Stable growth in foreign trade can provide more impetus for the domestic economy. The nine measures are part of a package of policy measures to inject growth momentum and confidence into stabilizing the economy, which will help realize the country’s annual economic targets, Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said on Friday.

“Consumption, investment, exports and market sentiment all improved in October, and this trend is highly likely to continue in the last two months of the year, as the confidence of enterprises and consumers has been shored up thanks to the support policies,” Wang Peng told the Global Times.

Resilient against external shocks

At the press conference on Friday, Wang Shouwen also stressed that China has the capacity in dealing with external shocks largely owing to its resilient and vibrant economy that has great potential in a response to a question on the impact of the US’ potential 60 percent tariffs on Chinese imports.

China is building a “dual circulation” development pattern, which takes the domestic market as the mainstay while allowing domestic and international markets to reinforce each other. We are capable of resolving and withstanding the impact of external shocks, the official told reporters.

Wang Shouwen noted that history has also shown that the imposition of tariffs on China by a country does not solve the problem of its own trade deficit, on the contrary, it pushes up the prices of the country’s imports from China as well as from other countries.

This is because the tariffs are ultimately paid for by the consumers and the end-users of the importing country, which inevitably leads to an increase in the prices paid by consumers and an increase in the costs to the users, which also leads to inflation, the vice commerce minister further elaborated.

The vice commerce minister said that China and the US are the two largest economies in the world, and have strong complementarities. We believe that if China and the US can maintain a stable, healthy and sustainable development trend in their economic and trade relations, it will be beneficial to both the Chinese people and the American people, as well as the people of all countries in the world, and this is also what the international community expects, he said.

China is willing to engage in dialogue with the US on the basis of the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, in a bid to expand areas of cooperation, manage differences, and promote the stability of the bilateral trade and economic and trade relationship, Wang Shouwen said, noting that China will also firmly safeguard its own sovereignty, security and development interests.

Chinese companies have advantages in ordering, transportation, warehousing and other export-related areas that are difficult for other countries to replace, due to their complete supply chain and high production efficiency, Li said.

“Moreover, the country’s economic resilience provides enough market size to address some of the external risks. In particular, China has continued to promote new dynamics in foreign trade and new quality productive forces, which will cultivate new international competitive advantages,” Li noted.

“Years of China-US trade and investment have made the two sides interdependent. In addition to providing US consumers with cost-effective products, China’s exports of its intermediate products have become embedded in the US supply chain and have become part of the competitiveness of many US industries,” Li said, noting that the US needs to maintain rationality in its economic and trade policy toward China.

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SOURCE Global Times

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ZICC: Closer China- Honduras Ties

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BEIJING, Nov. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Renato Florentino, vice president of Honduras, accepted an exclusive interview with ZICC in Wuzhen during the 2024 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit. He said that China’s advancements in transportation, communication, and computing impressed him a lot. “We hope to continue to promote the cooperation between Honduras and China and maintain close cooperative relations,” he said.

SOURCE ZICC

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