Suntory Oceania has committed $1 million to a three-year research partnership with Griffith University’s Australian Rivers Institute, its largest local water investment to date. While corporate philanthropy reached an all time high of $1.8 billion in 2025, there were few food and beverage companies among the top contributors.
The funding will support Griffith’s Australian Rivers Institute (ARI) in examining how climate change has altered Australia’s waterways and whether established environmental “safe zones” – formally – known as Safe and Just Earth System Boundaries – remain valid benchmarks for protecting river and wetland health.
ARI researchers will model water flow quality and quantity and pinpoint where catchment and river restoration can improve ecosystem health. The findings are intended to inform policymakers on long-term water resilience strategies.
The research will draw on evidence from a new Suntory water replenishment project in Queensland’s Lockyer Valley, a key agricultural region and vital catchment for the Brisbane River. The replenishment project is linked to the company’s Swanbank multi-beverage manufacturing facility in Ipswich, which is also the centrepiece of Suntory Oceania’s more than $400 million greenfield site – the largest single FMCG investment in Australia in the past decade.
Suntory Holdings chief sustainability officer, Jun Asaki, said, “By working with local partners and communities, we will develop tailored, science-based approaches that address the specific water challenges of this region and promote water stewardship and sustainability for generations to come.”
Suntory Beverage & Food Oceania CEO, Dai Minato, said the partnership with ARI is an extension of the global company’s philosophy and commitment to harmony between people and nature.
“For more than 125 years Suntory has been growing for good. Our partnership with the Australian Rivers Institute continues that commitment. By working together, we can safeguard water for communities and future generations,” Minato said.
Suntory Oceania has set targets to reduce water use by 35 per cent per unit of production by 2030 and cut total water use across its plants by 50 per cent by 2050. The partnership and replenishment project are intended to support progress toward those goals.
ARI Director, Professor David Hamilton, said river and lake systems act as indicators of broader ecosystem stress caused by human activity and climate change, describing them as “the canary in the coal mine”.
ARI senior research fellow, Dr Liliana Pagliero said, “Around the world aquatic ecosystem health is declining. We need targeted actions to stop them from reaching critical tipping points, such as crossing Earth System Boundaries, where their biodiversity and provision of nature’s benefits decline rapidly.”
The local partnership sits alongside Suntory’s global water stewardship programs, including Natural Water Sanctuary forests in Japan and watershed conservation work across the United States, Mexico, Scotland, France, Spain, and India. Its Mizuiku water education program, launched in Australia in 2025 in partnership with EarthWatch, delivers a $100,000 annual investment targeting primary school students.
Suntory Oceania is also a contributor to the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, through which it is advancing measurement and reporting of its impacts on water use and catchment resilience.
This year’s annual AFR Corporate Philanthropy 50 List, compiled by JBWere, reported donations at a new record of $1.8 billion, up eight per cent year-on-year.
“While many corporates are doing it through much needed cash donations, a growing number are recognising the value of providing goods and services and “in-kind” support,” the report said.
In September last year, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) signed a five-year partnership with environmental not-for-profit organisation, Landcare Australia, to help protect and preserve Australia’s natural environment, with a focus on boosting biodiversity and fostering sustainable ecosystems.
