Interview: Why Lion won two Contribution to Industry awards at the Australian Drinks Awards 2024

Last Thursday at the 2024 Australian Drinks Awards, Lion Australia excelled above all other Australian drinks companies in the Contribution to Industry Awards, winning two out of the three available accolades. This included being recognised for the Best Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiative and the Best Environmental Sustainability Initiative. 

Lion - alongside Brown Family Wine Group - also received the top prize in the Supply Chain Management category of the 2024 Supplier Awards.  

Drinks Trade recently sat down with Jane Hill, People & Culture Director at Lion Australia, to discuss its recent recognition along with what it is that sets Lion apart from.

Drinks Trade: Firstly, congratulations on the many wins… Did any take you by surprise?

Jane Hill: We were hopeful that some of our work would be recognised but the bar gets raised every year so we didn’t know what to expect... However, winning six was surprising - especially across different categories: Supply Chain Management, Environmental and Sustainability, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and three brand awards for Tooheys New, Stone & Wood and Heineken 0.0. 

DT: How important are these awards for Lion and what benefits does this sort of recognition bring?

JH: They're important internally and externally because they show we want to be the best at what we do. And they validate that what we do is making a difference to Lion and the drinks industry. We leverage it with our own team members who have all contributed to the wins and this gives them a real sense of pride and confidence. We also share it with our agencies and suppliers as they’re part of the broader Lion community. And our Talent Acquisition team share it in conversations with prospective talent as a reason to consider joining of Lion or another company in the drinks industry who care about such a broad range of topics.

DT: Lion was recognised as having the Best Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiative for 2024… Given this is your domain, can you explain the program that contributed to this recognition?

JH: This was an inaugural award for the drinks industry - in previous years this award has been focused “just” on  gender diversity. This year every entrant needed to demonstrate continued progress around gender diversity AND what else we’re doing to promote diversity and inclusion.

This year, Lion’s entry focused on cultural diversity. Over the last 12 months, we  held  some listening sessions and realised that culturally diverse team members had a slightly different experience from our caucasian team members. We wanted to get underneath that and understand the reasons why. We had qualitative data and quantitative data from our engagement surveys, and from that we created an employee resource group called We Belong at Lion. Tthis group is about building astrong sense of belonging for culturally diverse team members tosupport their progress and pathways towards a more senior leadership position. 

DT: Any advice for other companies looking to improve in the DE&I space?

JHThe great thing about the Drinks Association and our industry is,  although we are competitors, we are also quite open around sharing initiatives and what’s working well so we can all improve what we do in the DEI space.. So I would say if it's something that's of interest to your organisation and you feel like you're either starting or midway through and thinking ‘how do I continue to evolve and grow our program?,’ reach out to other organisations because we all want our industry to be a market leader so we can  attract and retain the best talent. 

DT: Do you think Australia’s drinks industry is making progress? If so, how much?

JH: I have been in the drinks industry for a long time and there’s no doubt  there’s been significant progress. Ten years ago, very few drinks organisations had gender targets or other benefits like shared parental leave or volunteer leave. Now, you’re a bit of a dinosaur if you don’t and you’re certainly not a talent magnet. If you want your brands to win in the marketplace, you need a workforce that reflects your consumers and an organisation that is a great place to work - for everyone. We’re all used to market share and profit targets. We know people are increasingly choosing to work for companies that care about the triple bottom line so consider what other targets you need to focus on to drive better outcomes around sustainability, DEI and wellbeing which are also correlated with stronger financial performance.

DT: Do you feel beer is traditionally less inclusive as a category?

JH: Traditionally yes but I believe it's moving forward faster in the last four or five years than other categories. There are increasingly different styles, formats, flavours, zero alc and zero carb offering healthier alternatives. And the comms are less about a group of blokes having a beer while they fish and more about a group of friends enjoying a beer after a run. 

DT: Lastly, can you briefly introduce your role as Lion’s People & Culture Director and how you got to where you are?

JH: Firstly I want to call out that Sarah Abbott is Lion’s Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and gets all the credit for driving our work in this space. Sarah is overseas, so I accepted the DEI Award on her behalf. 

I'm the People and Culture Director for Lion’s Australian business. The first half of my career was in Marketing and Sales. P&C is a great opportunity to continue my focus on people, change and culture and help Lion be a force for good. I’m a fan of using data to inform our thinking and there is overwhelming evidence around how DEI and Wellbeing drives better business outcomes. And as someone who has lived experience in this space, I know the difference it can make to individuals.