The Portman Group is a

trade group A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. Through collaboration between compani ...

composed of

alcoholic beverage Drinks containing alcohol (drug), alcohol are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and Distilled beverage, spirits—with alcohol content typically between 3% and 50%. Drinks with less than 0.5% are sometimes considered Non-al ...

producers and brewers in the UK.

History

It was set up in 1989 as part of a campaign to raise awareness on

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

-related issues, and its members account for the majority of alcohol products sold in the UK. It takes its name from the

Portman Square Portman Square is a garden square in Marylebone, central London, surrounded by townhouses. It was specifically for private housing let on long leases having a ground rent by the Portman Estate, which owns the private communal gardens. It mar ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, head office of

Guinness Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...

, one of its co-founders.

Drinkaware Trust

The Portman Group established the Drinkaware website in 2004 and went on to establish the Drinkaware Trust in 2006. The Drinkaware Trust is now an independent trust which runs all alcohol education campaigns, that had previously been the responsibility of the Portman Group.

Aims

There are four stated main aims of the group: * Promote responsible drinking (and thus lessen

binge drinking Binge drinking, or heavy episodic drinking, is drinking alcoholic beverages with an intention of becoming intoxicated by heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time, but definitions vary considerably. Binge drinking is a style of ...

) * Help prevent misuse of alcohol * Encourage alcohol marketing and advertising * Put forward the industry angle on the understanding of alcohol-related issues.

''Code of Practice on the Responsible Naming, Packaging and Promotion of Alcoholic Drinks''

The Portman Group operates a ''Code of Practice on the Naming, Packaging and Promotion of Alcoholic Drinks'' which was first introduced in 1996. The code, which is supported throughout the industry, seeks to ensure that drinks are marketed in a socially responsible way and to an adult audience only. The code applies to all pre-packaged alcoholic drinks and covers the drink's naming, packaging, point-of-sale advertising, brand websites, sponsorship, branded merchandise,

advertorial An advertorial is an advertisement in the form of editorial content. The term "advertorial" is a blend word, blend (see portmanteau) of the words "advertisement" and "editorial". Merriam-Webster dates the origin of the word to 1946. In printed pub ...

s, press releases and sampling. The code has an open and accessible complaints system. Complaints under the Code are ruled on by an independent complaints panel.

Members

Asahi Breweries The is a Japanese beverage holding company headquartered in Sumida, Tokyo. In 2019, the group had revenue of JPY 2.1 trillion. Asahi's business portfolio can be segmented as follows: Alcoholic drink, alcoholic beverage business (40.5%), over ...

* Aston Manor Cider *

Bacardi Bacardi Limited ( , , ) is the largest privately held, family-owned spirits company in the world. Originally known for its Bacardí brand of white rum, it now has a portfolio of more than 200 brands and labels. Founded in Cuba in 1862 by Facund ...

* Brown-Forman *

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. Budweiser is a filte ...

C&C Group C&C Group plc (known prior to its flotation as Cantrell & Cochrane Limited) is an Irish manufacturer, marketer and distributor of alcoholic drinks, particularly cider, and soft drinks. It has production facilities across Ireland, Great Britain ...

Campari Group Davide Campari-Milano N.V., trading as Campari Group, is an Italian company active since 1860 in the branded drink industry, beverage industry. It produces Distilled beverage, spirits, wines, and non-alcoholic apéritifs. From its signature produ ...

Diageo Diageo plc ( ) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It is a major distributor of Scotch whisky and other spirits and operates from 132 sites around the world ...

Heineken Heineken Lager Beer (), or simply Heineken (), is a Dutch pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star. History On 15 February 1864, ...

Jägermeister ( , ) is a German digestif made with 56 herbs and spices. Developed in 1934 by Wilhelm and Curt Mast, it has an alcohol by volume of 35% ( 61 degrees proof, or US 70 proof). The recipe has not changed since its creation, and the drink contin ...

Mark Anthony Brands International Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a curren ...

Molson Coors Molson Coors Beverage Company is a Canadian-American Multinational corporation, multinational Drink industry, drink and brewing company, brewing company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Molson Coors was formed in 2005 through the merger of Mo ...

* SHS Drinks *

Pernod Ricard Pernod Ricard () is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis (often referred to simply as ''Pernod'' or '' Ricard''). The world's second-largest wine and spirits seller, it also produ ...

Thatchers Cider Thatchers Cider is a family-owned cider maker in Sandford, Somerset, Sandford, North Somerset, England. History The Thatchers company was founded by William Thatcher in 1904. His son Stanley Thatcher, born in 1910, began selling draught cide ...

Campaigns

There have been several full campaigns run by the group. These include: * "I'll be Des" (

designated driver The terms "designated driver" and "designated driving" (commonly known as DD) refer to the selection of a person who remains sober as the responsible driver of a vehicle whilst others have been allowed to drink alcoholic beverages. Thus, as a pr ...

s) * "If you do do drink, don't do drunk" and Drinkaware.co.uk (excessive drinking, particularly in the under 24s) * Proof of Age Card (aka Prove It) (a PASS-accredited

identity card An identity document (abbreviated as ID) is a documentation, document proving a person's Identity (social science), identity. If the identity document is a plastic card it is called an ''identity card'' (abbreviated as ''IC'' or ''ID card''). ...

, discontinued in 2007) These campaigns have been strongly criticised by, amongst others, Professor Ian Gilmore of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

and Professor Martin Plant of the

University of the West of England The University of the West of England (also known as UWE Bristol) is a Public university, public research university, located in and around Bristol, England, UK. With more than 39,912 students and 4,300 staff, it is the largest provider of hi ...

, both noted alcohol harm experts, as not only ineffective but even favourable to the alcohol industry.

Public Health England Public Health England (PHE) was an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care in England which began operating on 1 April 2013 to protect and improve health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. Its formation came as a ...

was attacked by Martin McKee and others for giving unwarranted credibility to the drinks industry by involving Drinkaware in their Drink Free Days campaign in 2018. Professor Ian Gilmore resigned from his position with the agency when they refused to break the connection.

References

External links

Official site

Drink Aware trust

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

site {{Authority control Researchers in alcohol abuse Organizations established in 1989 Trade associations based in the United Kingdom Beer in the United Kingdom Pubs in the United Kingdom Alcohol industry trade associations Alcohol in the United Kingdom