Diageo’s four-year pledge pertains to ‘wholly-owned sites’ and includes a 30% increase in water efficiency, a 60% reduction in ‘pollution associated with waste water’ and a 100% decrease in waste sent to landfill.

In 2010, the group says it achieved carbon neutral status for its North American corporate fleet of vehicles, receiving recognition from Emkay's Go Green grogram, in the form of its "Green Fleet" status.

According to Diageo – the world’s largest drinks group – the last five years has seen improvements in the average miles per gallon (MPG) of is US corporate fleet, from 17.5 to 22, representing a 26% increase.

Bacardi's programme of environmental action and resource sustainability saw total energy reduced by 11.3% last year, greenhouse gas emissions cut by 18.9% and an improvement of 8.6% recorded for water efficiency.

The group built a wind turbine in Puerto Rico, achieved zero carbon dioxide emissions in its Italian operations - due to the use of hydro-electric power – and planted 82,000 trees and shrubs around the world.

Robert Furniss-Roe, vice president of global sales and corporate communications at Bacardi said:  “Our determined focus on using less energy and generating less waste led to an impressive year-over-year 8.6% improvement in water use and 5.9% improvement in energy efficiency totalling 16.6% over the past four years.”