JD.com and Diageo to promote responsible drinking in China

China’s e-commerce giant JD.com has reached an agreement with leading spirits group Diageo to partner up on advocating responsible drinking and moderate consumption of alcohol in the Chinese market.

Weibiao Gu, general manager East China for JD Super (JD.com’s online supermarket), and Mark Edwards, managing director of Diageo China, were present for the signing ceremony, which took place at the UK Food & Drink Pavilion at the CIIE show in Shanghai on 6 November.

Both partners said they wanted to leverage their respective business strengths to bring a positive and meaningful impact to society.

Under the agreement, JD.com and Diageo agree to jointly advance three initiatives. First, the two partners will collaborate to advance global standards for responsible drinking in conjunction with leading organisations such as the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD).

Second, JD.com and Diageo will work together with industry partners in China to advance the development of a code of conduct for responsible sales of alcohol online in China under the principle of self-governance.

Lastly, the parties will promote DRINKiQ, a responsible drinking education platform, in China, as well as other initiatives and campaigns that jointly advance consumer education and support reduction in alcohol-related harm.

JD.com has over 400 million active customers across its platform. The company has already taken steps to promote the responsible consumption of alcohol, such as providing clear guidance for safe consumption in the product descriptions on its e-commerce platform, and it will continue to strengthen its efforts in this area.

“We are pleased to further our commitment to consumer safety through this partnership with Diageo and to pioneer efforts for responsible drinking on e-commerce platforms in China,” said Gu.

He added: “When it comes to the consumption of alcohol, in addition to ensuring product quality, we want to guarantee that consumers have an enjoyable and informed experience. This partnership with Diageo is an important step in that direction.”

Meanwhile, Diageo has been a long-term advocate of responsible drinking globally. Its DRINKiQ is an interactive platform that provides easily digestible information for the public to enable them make more informed decisions when consuming alcohol, and to prevent harmful behaviour such as underage drinking, drunk driving and excessive consumption.

“Bringing positive social impact to every market that we operate in is a mission of Diageo. We are actively advocating for responsible drinking to ensure the well-being of our consumers. Through the partnership with JD, we are confident that we can inspire more Chinese consumers to engage in positive drinking behaviour and hopefully we can contribute to Chinese people’s aspirations towards a ‘better life’ by celebrating life, every day, everywhere,” said Edwards.