A party-goer testing for alcohol levels

With music festivals brought back to life after the pandemic hiatus, Carlsberg Malaysia has stepped up in advocating the importance of responsible drinking by rolling-out a month-long #CelebrateResponsibly campaign at its sponsored music festivals held in Kuching, Miri and Genting respectively. 

The campaign saw over 1,200 consumers pledging to not drive under the influence of alcohol and had their blood alcohol content (BAC) tested against the national BAC limit of 0.05% (50mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood).

Having run for eight consecutive years, the annual #CelebrateResponsibly campaign reiterates Carlsberg Malaysia’s commitment towards the worldwide Global Beer Responsible Day to promote the culture of responsible drinking, as well as in support of the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD), a non-profit organisation aimed at reducing irresponsible drinking. 

The campaign is the brewer’s flagship programme in delivering one of its sustainability prioirites – ZERO Irresponsible Drinking — which is aligned with the UNSDG Goal #3 – Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

Mindful of the massive crowd who consumed alcohol at the festival grounds of the Borneo Music Festival Live 2022 in Kuching, the Neon Borneo Festival in Miri, and the Genting Starlight Festival at Genting Highlands, the brewer empowered 21 employees to play the role of #CelebrateResponsibly ambassadors to spread the awareness of the legal purchasing age, educate them on the national legal BAC limit of 0.05% and encourage them to get their BAC tested on the spot to change their mindset
and behaviours about drink driving.

“With throngs of party-goers returning to festivals after having been cooped up indoors for the past two years, we took this opportunity to amplify our ZERO Irresponsible Drinking sustainability priority by encouraging our consumers to make responsible consumption decisions and change their mindset about irresponsible behaviours about excessive drinking and driving under the influence of alcohol, as advocated at our #CelebrateResponsibly campaign,” said Pearl Lai, Carlsberg Malaysia’s Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Director.

“In driving mindset and behavioural change, we equipped consumers with the knowledge on one’s alcohol tolerance, of which factors affecting it are typically one’s body weight, gender and age, as well as the tools to measure one’s BAC after drinking, against the country’s permitted BAC limits. In addition, we also made alcohol-free beverages like Somersby 0.0 available for sampling as we are cognizant of the change in drinking habits as more people opt for non-alcoholic brews,” Lai added.

“This year, Carlsberg beer celebrates its 175-year young birthday while Carlsberg Malaysia is celebrating 50 years of local production of Carlsberg beer. For many years, we are committed to the craft of brewing the finest beers, stouts and ciders with utmost care, pride and quality. We want to share with our consumers the exemplary taste, quality and natural ingredients used in our brews, not the intoxicating effects of drinking alcohol excessively or irresponsibly. With this, I invite all of our consumers to join us in advocating a #CelebrateResponsibly mindset and behaviour to safeguard our health, wellness and accessibility to alcohol,” Lai urged.

In previous years, Carlsberg Malaysia has also shown significant support for their partners and consumers by offering incentives in the form of discounted rides in partnership with five e-hailing and chauffeur on-call service providers namely Grab, Riding Pink, airasia Ride, Lailah and Buddy Driver, in collaboration with over 3,000 bars, bistros and restaurants in its effort to fight against drink driving.