saip initiatives

Working with Drinkaware

The Drinkaware Trust is an independent charity working to reduce alcohol misuse and harm in the UK. Drinkaware helps people to make better choices about their alcohol consumption by providing facts, tools, and advice to measure and regulate their intake.

Drinkaware at Work 
To help create happier, healthier workplaces, the Scottish Alcohol Industry Partnership partnered with Drinkaware to support delivery their Drinkaware at Work programme which provided free ‘Everything you need to know about alcohol’ sessions across Scotland from 2019. These sessions were designed and delivered under the ‘Drinkaware at Work’ initiative to support employees in making better, more informed decisions about their drinking. In addition to SAIP members, the initiative was supported and promoted by a range of bodies including:

• Scottish Town Partnerships
• Scottish Wholesale Association
• West Lothian Council
• Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce
• SPFL Trust

2023 Expanded Engagement 
Considerate Constructors Scheme: Male dominated industries have higher levels of risky drinking. Drinkaware and the Considerate Constructors Scheme research highlighted the Construction sector was amongst the top 10 sectors at risk of higher levels of drinking. There were several factors for this including peer pressure, working away from home, lack of support for SMEs and deadline related pressure.

Partnering with organisations can make it easier to access the ‘hard to reach.’ Drinkaware teamed up with the Considerate Constructors Scheme with the aim of educating employees in the construction industry, so they know the facts about alcohol to help themselves and their colleagues. This independently managed, not-for-profit organisation works side-by-side with the construction industry and the public to raise standards and build trust in construction.

The SAIP supported this initiative in Scotland by providing funding which allowed Drinkaware to supply free of charge physical and digital assets to support the initiative.

The physical assets were distributed in packs that contained:

• Alcohol unit measuring cups
• Alcohol unit and calories calculators
• ‘Everything you need to know about alcohol’ booklets
• Posters covering mental health, health harms, unit calculation and much more

Eight construction companies across Scotland received packs allowing 2000 employees to be reached.

2024 Promoting Drinking Check  
The Drinkaware Drinking Check tool helps individuals to understand their level of drinking be it low, medium or high. Drinkaware will be running campaigns and seeking partnerships to reach as many individuals as they can. Between September and December 2024, Drinkaware launched a Scotland-focused Drinking Check campaign in partnership with the Scottish Alcohol Industry Partnership (SAIP). This campaign aimed to increase engagement with the tool, particularly in high-risk areas.

Key achievements included:

6095 Completions of the Drinking Check through digital activity, more than six times the total number of Drinking Check compeltions in Scotland from the same period the previous year.

A reach of 9.7 million people through digital advertising, with campaign visibility exceeding 13 million impressions across multiple media channels.

40% of completions came from increasing risk drinkers – individuals who may not realise they are at an elevated risk of alcohol harm – compared to 32% across the uk. This is crucial, as these individuals are less liely to recognise their drinking as risky and could benefit from an abi.

To find out more
Visit the Drinking Check section of the Drinkaware website.