Company and its Bottling Partners Meet 2020
Water Replenishment Goal Five Years Early; Intend to Maintain Water
Stewardship Performance as Business Continues to Grow
The Coca-Cola Company and its global bottling partners (the
Coca-Cola system) today announced they have met their goal to
replenish, or in other words balance, the equivalent amount of
water used in their global sales volume back to nature and
communities. Based on this achievement, Coca-Cola is the first
Fortune 500 company to publicly claim achieving such an aggressive
water replenishment target1.
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Working with its bottling partners and
organizations across government, civil society and the private
sector, Coca-Cola has exceeded its goal of giving back to
communities and nature the equivalent of all the water they use in
their beverages and production. (Photo: Business Wire)
The Coca-Cola system also announced progress against its water
efficiency goal. The company and its bottling partners improved
water use efficiency by 2.5 percent from 2014 to 2015, adding to a
cumulative 27 percent improvement since 2004.
Based on a global water use assessment validated by LimnoTech
and Deloitte, and conducted in association with The Nature
Conservancy (TNC), the Coca-Cola system returned an estimated 191.9
billion liters of water to nature and communities in 2015 through
community water projects, equaling the equivalent of 115 percent of
the water used in Coca-Cola’s beverages last year.
“This achievement marks a moment of pride for Coca-Cola and our
partners. A goal that started as aspiration in 2007 is today a
reality and a global milestone we plan to maintain as our business
grows,” said Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company.
“Now, every time a consumer drinks a Coca-Cola product, they can
have confidence that our company and bottling partners are
committed to responsible water use today and tomorrow. We are
keenly aware that our water stewardship work is unfinished and
remain focused on exploring next steps to advance our water
programs and performance.”
The Coca-Cola system has achieved its water replenishment goals
through 248 community water partnership projects in 71 countries
focused on safe water access, watershed protection and water for
productive use. In many cases, projects also provide access to
sanitation and education, help improve local livelihoods, assist
communities with adapting to climate change, improve water quality,
enhance biodiversity, engage on policy and build awareness on water
issues. The program aspects mentioned in the preceding sentence do
not contribute to Coca-Cola’s replenish volume.
Replenish performance is independently reviewed by LimnoTech and
verified by Deloitte. That work is reflected in a 1,188 page
report. The methodology for calculating water replenishment
benefits was created in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy
and LimnoTech. It was the subject of scientific technical peer
review to verify its accuracy, and uses generally accepted
scientific and technical methods. Projects are reviewed annually
and evaluated using this methodology.
Some replenish projects directly return water to the source we
use while others are outside the watershed our plant uses but are
important to help meet needs of local governments, communities and
partners where there is a pressing need. Coca-Cola and its partners
seek projects that have a direct benefit, can be scaled up to have
greater impact by reaching more people and parts of an ecosystem,
are easy to learn from and replicate in other places where the
challenges are similar, and can be built to be sustainable by the
community over time, continuing to replenish water. These efforts,
as well as new projects, frequently address local source water
vulnerabilities and balance additional sales volume as Coca-Cola’s
business continues to grow.
At each of its 863 plants globally, Coca-Cola requires
operations to determine the sustainability of the water supply they
share with others in terms of quality, quantity, and other issues
such as infrastructure to treat and distribute water. Through this
process, one of the factors Coca-Cola plants must examine is
whether or not their use of water and discharge of water has the
potential to negatively impact the ability of other community
members to access a sufficient quantity and quality of water. If
so, or if there are areas where water sources may still be
unsustainable in some aspect, Coca-Cola’s requirement then mandates
that each plant develop and implement a Source Water Protection
Plan. The plan, among other things, engages others to mutually seek
solutions to promote the sustainability of the local water source.
This may result in replenish projects or other opportunities. While
each plant may not replenish all water to its direct source,
Coca-Cola’s policy is to require that all plants work to ensure
they do not negatively impact water sources and work with the
community on longer term solutions.
Coca-Cola’s replenishment strategy supports the company’s
overall water goal to safely return to communities and nature an
amount of water equal to what is used in its beverages and their
production. On the production side, the Coca-Cola system returned
approximately 145.8 billion liters of water used in its
manufacturing processes back to local watersheds near our bottling
plants through treated wastewater in 2015.
“All life depends on water, but less than 1 percent of the
world’s water is fresh and accessible. From mountain glaciers to
estuaries, we must account for the whole system if we hope to
secure freshwater for all,” said Carter Roberts, World Wildlife
Fund (WWF) President and CEO. “This means partnerships matter. This
is an important milestone in Coca-Cola’s continued leadership on
water stewardship and sets a standard for other water users to
build from.”
Coca-Cola collaborates on replenish projects with governments,
civil society and other members of the private sector. Some of the
many organizations Coca-Cola partners with include Global
Environment & Technology Foundation (GETF), Millennium
Challenge Corporation, TNC, United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), UN-Habitat, United States Agency for International
Development (USAID), WaterAid, Water and Sanitation for the Urban
Poor (WSUP), Water for People, WWF, and World Vision.
Four programs with significant contribution to Coca-Cola’s water
replenishment activities are our global conservation partnership
with WWF, The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation’s Replenish Africa
Initiative (RAIN), the company’s Every Drop Matters partnership
with UNDP, which expanded to New World in 2014, and Coca-Cola’s
investment in 50 water funds across 12 countries in Africa, Latin
America and the Caribbean, with key partners TNC, FEMSA Foundation
and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). All of these
programs are active and committed through 2020.
Replenish projects work to balance, or offset, the direct water
use of The Coca-Cola Company and its bottling partners across
operations in more than 200 countries. The water use is inclusive
of water used within manufacturing as well as finished beverages,
which includes water from fountain sales. The water footprint of
growing agricultural ingredients sourced by the Coca-Cola system is
not included in this goal. However, sustainable water practices are
part of Coca-Cola’s Sustainable Agriculture Guiding Principles
required for suppliers.
To learn more about Coca-Cola’s water stewardship program,
visit the company’s water stewardship report.
About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world's
largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500
sparkling and still brands and more than 3,800 beverage choices.
Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world's most valuable and recognizable
brands, our company’s portfolio features 20 billion-dollar brands,
18 of which are available in reduced-, low- or no-calorie options.
Our billion-dollar brands include Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero, Fanta,
Sprite, Dasani, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Del
Valle, Georgia and Gold Peak. Through the world's largest beverage
distribution system, we are the No. 1 provider of both sparkling
and still beverages. More than 1.9 billion servings of our
beverages are enjoyed by consumers in more than 200 countries each
day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable
communities, our company is focused on initiatives that reduce our
environmental footprint, create a safe, inclusive work environment
for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the
communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners,
we rank among the world's top 10 private employers with more than
700,000 system associates. For more information, visit Coca-Cola
Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com, follow us on Twitter at
twitter.com/CocaColaCo, visit our blog, Coca-Cola Unbottled, at
www.coca-colablog.com or find us on LinkedIn at
www.linkedin.com/company/the-coca-cola-company.
1We acknowledge that different companies and industries water
use varies within their products and production. Coca-Cola’s claim
is based on publicly reported claims and information as of June 1,
2016, and is inclusive of water return against direct water
use.
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The Coca-Cola CompanySerena Levy,
404-676-2683serena.levy@coca-cola.com
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