Partnership and Company set ambitious global Water, Climate, Packaging and Agriculture performance goals
Published 07-09-13
Submitted by Coca-Cola Company, The
The Coca-Cola Company and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) are working to advance the Coca-Cola system’s sustainability stewardship with the announcement today of new, bold global environmental goals and an expanded global partnership.
These ambitious goals, which complement other Coca-Cola well-being and community commitments, focus on sustainable management of water, energy and packaging use as well as sustainable sourcing of agricultural ingredients through 2020.
Building on the initial successes of their nearly decade-long partnership, Coca-Cola and WWF have agreed to extend their efforts by meeting ambitious new conservation and performance targets, promoting the integration of nature’s value into decision-making processes and convening influential partners to help solve shared global environmental challenges.
“At Coca-Cola, we are deeply committed to working with partners to address our collective environmental challenges and responsibly manage the planet’s resources,” said Muhtar Kent, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Coca-Cola Company. “As we face a resource-stressed world with growing global demands on food and water, we must seek solutions that drive mutual benefit for business, communities and nature. Working with WWF will continue to challenge our Company to advance our sustainability programs, and WWF’s expertise will be instrumental in reaching our environmental performance goals, some of which they help us set.”
“We are witnessing unprecedented demands on natural resources around the world. Continuing with business as usual puts everything at risk, including the viability of business,” said Carter Roberts, President and CEO, World Wildlife Fund. “These problems can only be solved by working together, and our work with Coca-Cola has proven that collaboration can amplify and accelerate the impact we need.”
Under the renewed and expanded partnership, Coca-Cola and WWF jointly developed new 2020 environmental sustainability goals for the Coca-Cola system – the Company and its nearly 300 bottling partners in more than 200 countries. These goals include:
In addition to the goals jointly developed and announced with WWF, Coca-Cola has reaffirmed its water replenishment goal and evolved its package recovery goal through 2020 to include:
Since 2007, The Coca-Cola Company and WWF have worked together to conserve and protect freshwater resources around the world while helping to improve the efficiency of Coca-Cola’s global operations. To date, the partnership has led to major conservation gains, including helping to improve the ecological health of seven of the world’s most important freshwater basins across five continents, helping improve the Coca-Cola system’s water efficiency by 20 percent, working to prevent 5 million metric tons of CO2 emissions across Coca-Cola’s global manufacturing operations, and promoting more sustainable agricultural practices in the Company’s supply chain.
Media Conference Call
Coca-Cola and WWF will be hosting a conference call for media to learn more about this announcement and ask questions at 1 p.m. ET on July 9, 2013. The conference call will be hosted by Bea Perez, Coca-Cola Chief Sustainability Officer; Jeff Seabright, Coca-Cola Corporate Environmental Officer; and Carter Roberts, President and CEO, World Wildlife Fund.
Media are invited to join the call at 1 p.m. ET. If interested, contact Coca-Cola or WWF media contacts listed below.
Twitter Chat
@CocaColaCo will be hosting at Twitter Chat with @World_Wildlife on Wednesday, July 10, from 9:30-10:30 a.m. to discuss this announcement and address public comments and questions. The Twitter Chat will be hosted by Jeff Seabright, Coca-Cola Global Environmental Officer.
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. Led by Coca-Cola, the world's most valuable brand, our Company's portfolio features 16 billion-dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of more than 1.8 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, 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 or check out our blog, Coca-Cola Unbottled, at www.coca-colablog.com.
About World Wildlife Fund
WWF is the world’s leading conservation organization, working in 100 countries for half a century. With the support of almost 5 million members worldwide, WWF is dedicated to delivering science-based solutions to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth, halt the degradation of the environment and combat climate change. Visit www.worldwildlife.org to learn more.
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 nonalcoholic sparkling brands, including Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite, and a wide range of other beverages, including diet and light beverages, waters, juices and juice drinks, teas, coffees, energy 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 1.4 billion servings each day. For more information about The Coca-Cola Company, please visit our website at www.thecoca-colacompany.com.
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