Netherlands: NGO Calls on Olympians to Boycott Heineken
STAP, one of the most experienced consulting organizations for alcohol policy in the Netherlands, is calling for Dutch Olympians to boycott the Holland Heineken House in the 2020 Olympics.
It has been announced that Holland Heineken House will happen again in the 2020 Olympics. This time it will be part of TeamNL Tokyo Center, a temporary Holland pavilion, where Dutch companies can present themselves during the Olympic Games in Japan.
Heineken continues to organize in Holland Heineken House the festive prize ceremonies for the Dutch Olympians who won a medal. There ceremonies are broadcasted across Dutch media for young and old alike.
The Dutch Institute for Alcohol Policy, STAP, argues that continuing this deal with Heineken is not suitable due to agreements made by State Secretary for Health, Welfare and Sport Paul Blokhuis on behalf of the government with more than 70 stakeholders within the framework of the National Prevention Agreement. The agreement includes clauses to end the association between sport and alcohol. Continuing Holland Heineken House is therefore in conflict with the objective of the agreement.
STAP calls on the Olympic athletes to speak out against the continuation of Holland Heineken House. As athletes are forced to partake in these ceremonies despite their personal or private sponsor’s views.
Let the Dutch Olympic Committee be fully responsible for the honouring of our Olympic medal winners. Doing so, the Dutch Olympic Committee shows all its members and in fact the whole of the Netherlands, that they take the Prevention Agreement with State Secretary Paul Blokhuis seriously,” said STAP as per, EUCAM.
Heineken, one of the most unethical multinational corporations
The partnership of the Dutch Olympic Committee with Heineken, the world’s second largest beer producer is controversial and ill-advised.
Heineken’s track record of unethical business practices speaks for itself – and has been covered by investigative journalist Olivier van Beemen in his book “Heineken in Africa”. From aggressive political activity, to tax avoidance schemes; from racism, exploitation of women, Human Rights abuses to unethical marketing, Heineken relies on a vast spectrum of unethical business practices.
The evidence is overwhelming that Heineken – even beyond profiting from addiction and other alcohol harm – is one of the most unethical multinational corporations whose actions directly contradict the Olympic values.
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