New York - Reflecting the growing importance of corporate responsibility to the U.S. and international business community, The Coca-Cola Company announced today that it has officially joined the United Nations Global Compact, the world's largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative. Coca-Cola Chairman and Chief Executive Officer E. Neville Isdell informed UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan of the company's commitment to the Global Compact and its ten principles during a meeting at United Nations Headquarters.

The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company. Headquartered in Atlanta/Georgia, the company has one of the world's most extensive distribution systems and markets a variety of beverages in more than 200 countries. In the most recent fiscal year the company posted net operating revenues of approximately $23 billion.

"Coca-Cola's participation is an affirmation of the growing momentum of the Global Compact around the world and particularly in the U.S. market, where more and more companies are engaging," said Georg Kell, Executive Head of the Global Compact. "The Coca-Cola Company is in a powerful position to advance the tenets of corporate responsibility and the Global Compact's ten principles in the areas of human rights, labour standards, the environment and anti-corruption."

The Global Compact is the world's largest corporate responsibility initiative with 2,900 participants and stakeholders from 90 countries, including a number of major U.S. corporations. Through its web of approximately 50 Local Networks spanning every region of the world, the Global Compact aims to balance global reach with local contextualization of its ten principles and related corporate citizenship issues.

"Our support for the United Nations Global Compact is a formal expression of The Coca-Cola Company's commitment to conduct our business with the utmost respect for universal principles around human rights, workplace standards, responsible environmental practices, and anti-corruption," said Mr. Isdell. "Our commitment applies to The Coca-Cola Company and all of the entities that it owns or in which it holds a majority interest."

Mr. Kell noted that The Coca-Cola Company has in recent years implemented a range of corporate citizenship initiatives and projects around the world including programs related to HIV/AIDS, water sanitation and minority empowerment. The company is working in partnership with various United Nations organizations, including UNICEF, United Nations Development Programme and UNAIDS, on many such projects. "By joining the Global Compact, Coca-Cola has an opportunity to build on its already impressive work and help contribute to a more sustainable and inclusive global economy," he said.

About the UN Global Compact
Launched in 2000, the UN Global Compact brings business together with UN agencies, labour, civil society and governments to advance universal principles in the areas of human rights, labour standards, the environment and anti-corruption. For more information, please visit www.unglobalcompact.org.

About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company. Along with Coca-Cola®, recognized as the world's most valuable brand, the Company markets four of the world's top five soft drink brands, including Diet Coke, Fanta® and Sprite®, and a wide range of other beverages, including diet and light soft drinks, waters, juices and juice drinks, teas, coffees and sports drinks. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company's beverages at a rate exceeding 1.3 billion servings each day. For more information about The Coca-Cola Company, please visit www.coca-cola.com.

United Nations Global Compact

United Nations Global Compact

As the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative, the United Nations Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Our ambition is to accelerate and scale the global collective impact of business by upholding the Ten Principles and delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through accountable companies and ecosystems that enable change. With the UN Global Compact, committed companies achieve sustainable value by delivering measurable impact to the world’s most pressing challenges. 

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