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Sustainability Double for Coca-Cola HBC AG: ‘A’ Rating Awarded by the Carbon Disclosure Project Following Leadership in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices

Sustainability Double for Coca-Cola HBC AG: ‘A’ Rating Awarded by the Carbon Disclosure Project Following Leadership in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices

Published 10-24-14

Submitted by Coca-Cola HBC

Coca-Cola HBC AG (Coca-Cola HBC), the world’s second largest bottler of products of The Coca-Cola Company, has been awarded an A rating by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) – and a place in the CDP Global Climate Performance Leadership Index 2014.

This is a further achievement for the company as it has also recently been named the global industry leader amongst beverage companies in the 2014 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI). This is the seventh consecutive year that Coca-Cola HBC has been included in the indices and for the first time this year it leads both the World and European indices.

CDP is a not-for-profit organisation which provides the only global system for companies to measure, disclose, manage and share vital environmental information, motivating them to disclose their impact on the environment and take action to reduce it.

This year CDP has also upgraded Coca-Cola HBC to an A rating, from last year’s B rating, and awarded the company a place in the UK’s FTSE 350 Leadership Index, in addition to its place in The A List: Global Climate Performance Leadership Index, which for the first time looks at all climate leader companies around the world, not just the global 500 companies.

Coca-Cola HBC provided comprehensive information about the measurement and management of its carbon footprint, climate change strategy and risk management processes and outcomes, which clearly defined and quantified the risks and opportunities around climate change and resulted in a number of initiatives including: 

  • Supporting the expansion of the capacity of the Russian sugar beet industry, which will eliminate the need to import sugar for the company’s operations by 2015
  • Working with suppliers in introducing HFC-free coolers, meaning all new equipment will be hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)-free by 2015
  • An investment of €3 million in 2013 in energy saving programmes throughout the company’s plants

These initiatives contributed to a reduction in total absolute carbon emissions (direct and indirect) of 5.3% compared to the previous year.

The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices assess over 2,500 of the world’s largest publicly traded companies on financially relevant economic, environmental and social factors. Following an evaluation, the top 10% of companies within each industry are selected for inclusion.

In the DJSI, Coca-Cola HBC was ranked first in the beverages sector out of 30 companies in DJSI World and 10 companies in DJSI Europe. The company’s overall score was 89%, up from 81% last year, and it achieved industry-best scores across the environmental and social dimensions. Best progress was made in the areas of brand and customer relationship management, health and nutrition, supply chain management, talent attraction and retention, human capital development. In the environmental dimension, packaging and water risk management were awarded the maximum 100 points.

Dimitris Lois, Coca-Cola HBC CEO said:  “We are delighted to be recognised as an industry leader by these two benchmarks of corporate sustainability performance. Our substantial improvement this year in the DJSI, and our rating upgrade from B to A by CDP demonstrate that sustainability is at the heart of our business, and these two awards are a firm endorsement of the good work we are doing.”

Commenting on the companies that made it to the CDP’s Climate Disclosure Leadership Index Paul Simpson, CEO of the Carbon Disclosure Project, said: “Global greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and we face steep financial risk if we do not mitigate them.  The need for data on corporate climate change impacts and strategies to reduce them has never been greater.  For this reason we congratulate those businesses that have achieved a position on CDP’s Climate Disclosure Leadership Index. These companies are responding to the ever-growing demand for environmental accountability and should inspire others to follow suit.”

 


About Coca-Cola HBC
Coca-Cola HBC is the second-largest bottler of the brands of The Coca-Cola Company in terms of volume with sales of more than 2 billion unit cases. It has a broad geographic footprint with operations in 28 countries serving a population of approximately 585 million people. Coca-Cola HBC offers a diverse range of non-alcoholic ready to drink beverages in the sparkling, juice, water, sport, energy, tea and coffee categories. Coca-Cola HBC is committed to promoting sustainable development in order to create value for its business and for society. This includes providing products that meet the beverage needs of consumers, fostering an open and inclusive work environment, conducting its business in ways that protect and preserve the environment and contribute to the socio-economic development of the local communities.


Coca-Cola HBC has a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: CCH) and its shares are listed on the Athens Exchange (ATHEX: EEE). Coca-Cola HBC is included in the Dow Jones Sustainability and FTSE4Good Indexes. For more information, please visit http://www.coca-colahellenic.com/.

 

About Dow Jones Sustainability Indices
The DJSI were launched in 1999 as the first global sustainability benchmarks. The indices are offered cooperatively by RobecoSAM and S&P Dow Jones Indices. The group tracks the stock performance of the world's leading companies in terms of economic, environmental and social criteria. The indices serve as benchmarks for investors who integrate sustainability considerations into their portfolios, and provide an effective engagement platform for companies who want to adopt sustainable best practices. Following an evaluation of a range of general and industry-specific issues only the top 10% are accepted for inclusion. For more information visit http://www.sustainability-indices.com/

 

About CDP
CDP is an international, not-for-profit organization providing the only global system for companies and cities to measure, disclose, manage and share vital environmental information. CDP works with market forces, including 767 institutional investors with assets of US$92 trillion, to motivate companies to disclose their impacts on the environment and natural resources and take action to reduce them. CDP now holds the largest collection globally of primary climate change, water and forest risk commodities information and puts these insights at the heart of strategic business, investment and policy decisions. Please follow us @CDP to find out more.

Coca-Cola HBC logo

Coca-Cola HBC

Coca-Cola HBC

Coca-Cola HBC is the second-largest bottler of the brands of The Coca-Cola Company in terms of volume with sales of more than 2 billion unit cases. It has a broad geographic footprint with operations in 28 countries serving a population of approximately 585 million people. Coca-Cola HBC offers a diverse range of non-alcoholic ready to drink beverages in the sparkling, juice, water, sport, energy, tea and coffee categories. Coca-Cola HBC is committed to promoting sustainable development in order to create value for its business and for society. This includes providing products that meet the beverage needs of consumers, fostering an open and inclusive work environment, conducting its business in ways that protect and preserve the environment and contribute to the socio-economic development of the local communities.

 

Coca-Cola HBC has a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: CCH) and its shares are listed on the Athens Exchange (ATHEX: EEE). Coca-Cola HBC’s American depositary shares (ADSs) are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CCH). Coca-Cola HBC is included in the Dow Jones Sustainability and FTSE4Good Indexes. For more information, please visit www.coca-colahellenic.com.

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