Better Health for All

Diageo's principal goods, alcoholic beverages, are linked to severe, widespread health damage, including an increased risk of at least seven cancers

, and are the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the US. As Diageo's core business is beverage alcohol, it can be inferred that 90-100% of its revenue comes from products with scientifically established serious health harms. The US Surgeon General's call for alcohol drink labels to include cancer warnings indicates incomplete risk disclosures and regulatory scrutiny. Alcohol consumption represents a major health-harming externality, and the call for warnings suggests current remediation efforts are inadequate. However, Diageo does implement substantial addiction mitigation efforts through programs like DRINKiQ, which includes a drinking self-assessment tool aligned with the WHO's AUDIT tool , and the award-winning SMASHED program, which started in 2005 and addresses underage drinking. Diageo's healthcare education initiatives, such as the 2021 DRINKiQ campaigns , demonstrated significant reach, with 7.8 million people participating in Korea and over 200,000 completing quizzes there , alongside substantial quiz completions in North America, Great Britain, and Hungary.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

Diageo is a beverage company and does not offer lending, insurance, or deposit services to consumers. Therefore, KPIs such as `underserved_client_share`, `pricing_fairness`, `exploitative_fee_exposure`, `inclusion_initiatives`, `data_accessibility`, `fair_lending_compliance`, `debt_burden_ratio`, `geographic_inclusion`, and `product_simplicity` are not applicable to its core business model and are scored 0. `wealth_building_outcome` is omitted due to a lack of quantitative data on the percentage of users achieving specific financial outcomes listed in the rubric. `profit_reinvestment` is omitted because the evidence provides a percentage of 'operating profit' invested, which does not exactly match the rubric's requirement for '% of annual pre-tax profit'. In fiscal 24, Diageo invested $28.9 million or 0.5% of operating profit in programs to support the communities where they live, work, source, and sell.

`financial_literacy_initiatives` is omitted because, while programs exist, the evidence does not provide reach as a percentage of 'customers' or specific outcome metrics required by the rubric.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

Diageo's median CEO pay ratio was 51:1 in 2024.

The company reported global employee engagement levels of 81% in its global employee survey.

Honest & Fair Business

Diageo incurred a $750,000 fine from the COMESA Competition Commission in October 2025 for anti-competitive practices.

The company operates a global, confidential "SpeakUp" whistleblowing service for employees, business partners, and the value chain, administered by an independent provider and available in over 20 languages. Diageo has a zero-tolerance policy for retaliation, and allegations are investigated by independent teams, with the Audit Committee monitoring reports. Furthermore, Diageo has a global anti-corruption policy that prohibits all forms of corruption, including facilitation payments. This policy is supported by routine and specialized training, with 97% of eligible employees completing mandatory Code of Business Conduct training in fiscal 2024. Compliance is monitored by a Global Business Integrity team, and markets conduct annual risk assessments, including for bribery and corruption, utilizing a "Know Your Business Partner" program for third-party due diligence.

Kind to Animals

No specific, quantifiable evidence was found in the provided articles that directly matches the quantitative thresholds for any of the 'Kind to Animals' KPIs. While some articles mention general environmental initiatives

, supplier screening , or the use of animal-derived ingredients , they do not provide the precise percentages, volumes, or specific outcomes required by the rubric's scoring tiers for animal welfare, testing, or conservation impact.

No War, No Weapons

Diageo's Code of Business Conduct states a commitment to comply with international sanctions and trade restrictions, prohibiting direct or indirect business with sanctioned persons, entities, governments, or states.

The company implements Know Your Customer (KYC) and Know Your Business Partner (KYBP) programs to screen partners and requires any concerns from this process to be referred to internal legal counsel or the Sanctions Compliance Officer. Furthermore, Diageo is committed to acting in accordance with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Its policies are informed by various international human rights and labor standards, including the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights to Work, the Children’s Rights and Business Principles, UN Global LGBTI Standards of Conduct for Business, UN Women’s Empowerment Principles, and the UN Global Compact, to which it is a signatory.

Planet-Friendly Business

Diageo reported total Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions of 6,169,171 tCO₂e in fiscal 2024.

Scope 1 and 2 emissions decreased by 10.7% from the prior year, and Scope 3 emissions decreased by 5%. The company has Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) approved targets for near and long-term, aligned to a 1.5°C pathway, including a 50% reduction in Scope 3 value chain emissions by 2030 from a 2020 baseline. Total renewable energy use was 50.3% of total energy consumption in fiscal 2024, with renewable electricity use at 93.7% of total electricity consumed. Diageo achieved and maintained zero waste to landfill in direct operations in fiscal 2024, diverting 1,411,354 tonnes of waste. In fiscal 2024, 42% of the materials used in packaging were recycled input materials. Diageo has protected and restored 5.7 km² of habitats across supply locations, representing approximately 10.5% of its identified sensitive land, and supports various tree planting initiatives and regenerative agriculture programs. However, Diageo reported 55 incidents of non-compliance related to environmental regulations, licenses, and permit requirements in fiscal 2024, and was fined £1.2 million in 2022 for operating without emissions permits for six years at three sites. Diageo aims for net-zero carbon emissions in direct operations (Scope 1 and 2) by 2030, and across its total value chain (Scopes 1, 2, and 3) by 2050. Diageo embraces the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and incorporates the framework into its reporting, conducting scenario analysis following TCFD recommendations for physical and transition risks, including a Paris-aligned scenario. Water withdrawal from sites in water-stressed areas accounted for 33.44% (5,159 ML) of total water withdrawal (15,429 ML) in fiscal 2024.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

No specific quantitative data was found in the provided articles to assess Diageo against the defined KPIs for Respect for Cultures & Communities. The articles mention an inclusive design training program for 1,200 marketers and innovation team employees

, and that Diageo's advertising regularly outperformed industry benchmarks in portraying characters respectfully and positively . Additionally, the company supported the launch of the Multicultural Consortium for Responsible Drinking (MCRD) with various Black, Latino, and Native American organizations . However, these initiatives do not provide the specific metrics required by the rubric, such as the number of formal partnerships, percentage of revenue reinvested, cultural appropriation incidents, or cultural impact assessment protocols.

Safe & Smart Tech

A cyberattack at Capita, a service provider, impacted 30,000 members of Diageo's pension scheme.

The attack was detected in March and confirmed in April. Capita initially denied data compromise, later acknowledged the potential breach, and advised affected parties to assume data compromise.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

Diageo achieved zero waste to landfill at all its supply and office sites in 2020.

The company's total packaging recycled content inclusion reached 46% as of the most recent report. For product recyclability, Talisker 10-year-old packaging recyclability increased to 99.8%. In 2020, 100% of product lines had reuse models, and these models were present in 40% of markets. Over 90% of beer volume in Africa is delivered through returnable glass bottles and kegs, and a glass bottle return system for Ypióca in Brazil supplied over 70% of specific bottles. Diageo partners with ecoSPIRITS to pilot refillable spirits packaging in 18 markets over three years, with ecoTOTEs designed for 150 uses. Diageo applies circular design principles through initiatives such as developing a PET-free paper-based spirits bottle for Johnnie Walker, experimenting with home-compostable Mycelium gift cartons for Seedlip, and trialing low-carbon bottles for Black & White Scotch whisky made with 100% recycled glass. The company has implemented numerous waste reduction initiatives, including eliminating 28 metric tonnes of multilayer materials, 40 metric tonnes of metallised films, and 40 metric tonnes of labels/stickers/sleeves between June 2020 and June 2021. Diageo invested £16 million to remove plastic from Irish beer multipacks, committed to removing 184 million cartons from scotch whisky brands, and moved to compostable can carriers at its US Guinness Open Gate Brewery. It co-founded the Africa Plastics Recycling Alliance and is developing the Ghana Recycling Initiative by Private Enterprises. The "Glass is Good" project in Brazil collected 5,000 tonnes of glass over four years, and Guinness Ghana Breweries set up 10 plastic buy-back centers aiming to collect 800 tonnes of plastic. Diageo has company-wide waste reduction targets with timelines, including a 5% total reduction in plastic packaging compared to 2020 by 2025, and aims for 50% recycled content in packaging by 2030. The company has reported no waste disposal violations in its sustainability reports.