63 MARTINDALE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISE ramped up efforts to expand its drug offerings in recent years, specifically through becoming a leader in the obesity treatment market. In 2021, they launched the weight-loss prescription medication, Wegovy, which obtained approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, and Saxenda, which launched in 65 countries (Novo Nordisk, 2021). In 2022, Wegovy earned more than 25Bkr in sales, and Novo Nordisk reported that demand for the drug exceeded supply in 2021 and 2022 (Novo Nordisk, 2021, 2022). Novo Nordisk currently controls a 77.8% share of the obesity prescription drug market and looks to double reported sales from 2019 by 2025 (Novo Nordisk, 2022). Maersk is a shipping company with an emphasis on containerization and is the second largest company in Denmark. The A.P. Moller Foundation owns 100% of the shares in A.P. Møller Holding A/S, which owns 41.51% of the stock and holds 51.45% of the voting rights in A.P. Møller-Mærsk A/S. Its main areas of focus are a cross-section of transportation services, supply chain, and logistics and the associated financial services for each area. A highly global company, Maersk transports 17% of the world’s cargo by sea and air. It also has seen growth in its logistics and services sectors as well as its terminals section. In all three categories, it is trying to digitize and automate certain aspects of these services to make them more efficient (A.P. Moller-Maersk, 2022). The Carlsberg Group is a Danish brewing company and the third largest brewing company in the world. The Carlsberg Foundation is its majority shareholder, owning shares at least equivalent to 51% of the votes in Carlsberg A/S, as dictated by the Foundation’s charter. Currently, the Foundation holds 30% of the capital and 76% of the votes in Carlsberg A/S. Due to the Ukraine conflict, Carlsberg pulled its products from Russia, one of its largest markets. As a consequence of the global decrease in beer consumption as well as the increasing consolidation of the market, Carlsberg is under immense pressure to innovate. One way it has done so has been by introducing several nonalcoholic lines. It currently offers alcohol-free brews in 90% of its markets and is working toward increasing this number to 100% by 2030. Carlsberg is also planning to make 35% of its total offerings alcohol-free by that same year (Carlsberg Breweries Group, 2022). Environmental sustainability Foundation-owned companies disproportionately focus their efforts on increasing the sustainability of their operations versus their corporate peers. Carlsberg leads in its sustainability efforts in the brewing industry. In 2022, the Carlsberg Group partnered with malt producer Malteries Soufflet and grain buyer Soufflet Agriculture of InVivo Group to produce the first sustainable and traceable responsible barley supply chain in France. They employed 45 farmers who specialized in regenerative practices to promote biodiversity and reduce carbon emissions to make this feat possible. Carlsberg aims to use this barley to brew 20% of the malt used to brew Kronenbourg 1664 Blonde beer in 2023 and increase this percentage to 100% by 2026. This effort is part of Carlsberg’s ambitious sustainability initiative known as Together Towards ZERO, which encompasses the actions it is taking to reach its goal of zero carbon emissions by 2040. Carlsberg has reduced carbon emissions from 2015 by 57% and water use per hectoliter of beer by 31% (Carlsberg Breweries Group, 2022). Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev), the largest beer company in the world, has similar sustainability goals, aiming for carbon neutrality by 2040 and power operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025. However, the actual progress that AB InBev has made toward that goal pales in comparison to what Carlsberg has accomplished. AB InBev, which earned $54.3B in revenue in 2021, compared to the $10.6B that Carlsberg made, only reduced its carbon emissions by 28.6% since 2017 (AB InBev, 2021). What accounts for the more ambitious results that Carlsberg has achieved in carbon reduction? The root of the answer lies in Carlsberg’s corporate structure. The Young Scientists Community at the Carlsberg Research Laboratory has assisted Carlsberg in finding innovative solutions to reduce the amount of water needed in the brewing process. The Young Scientists Community derives its funding, of course, from the money that the Carlsberg Foundation allots, as dictated by the founding clause to support continuous scientific innovation (Carlsberg Breweries Group, 2021). Although AB InBev has its own in-house scientists and agriculturists and frequently partners with organizations around the world to conduct scientific research regarding sustainability and environmental efficiency, there is a difference in the level of importance that each company ascribes to sustainability, and it shows. AB InBev brings in almost five times as much profit as Carlsberg and has plenty more resources at its disposal, yet Carlsberg outranks AB InBev in terms of carbon emissions reduction and equals the beer behemoth in water efficiency. A possible reason for this discrepancy could be AB InBev’s ownership, which is composed of multiple financial firms. Scientific innovation is
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