In a report released on 28 July, The Coca-Cola Company has highlighted progress on 2020 sustainability goals with a focus on women, water and well-being.
The 2014/2015 Sustainability Report demonstrates The Coca-Cola Company’s commitment to continuous improvement, increased disclosure, risk assessment and expanded stakeholder engagement. In the report, the company’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Bea Perez, reported that “At Coca-Cola, we’re committed to integrating sustainability into the very heart of the enterprise, where our efforts create value for our shareowners and the communities we proudly serve.
“We believe the majority of innovation over the next decade will happen at the intersection of sustainability and the supply chain. Working together with our bottling partners to empower women, better manage water resources and promote well-being gives us new opportunities to build business resiliency and add value across our system.”
The report highlights the achievements in the areas of Women, Water and Well-being:
Women: Progress continues against the company’s commitment, known as ‘5by20’, to enable the economic empowerment of 5 million women entrepreneurs by 2020. As at 31 December 2014, the company’s 5by20 programs had helped enable nearly 865,000 women in 52 countries since the program launched in 2010.
Water: In 2014, the company replenished an estimated 94% (a calculated estimate of 153.6 billion liters) of the equivalent amount of water used in finished beverages worldwide (based on 2014 sales volume) through 209 community water partnership projects in 61 countries.
Well-being: The company continues its work to meet global business commitments to promote well-being and to help address the public health challenge of obesity. In 2014, Coca-Cola introduced more than 400 new beverage options, more than 100 of which are reduced-, low- or no-calorie. Additionally the company provide support for more than 330 active, healthy living programs in 112 markets.
The report also updates other areas of progress, including efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of the “drink in your hand” by 25% and to sustainably source key agricultural ingredients globally by 2020. To view The Coca-Cola Company’s 2014/2015 Sustainability Report, please visit www.coca-colacompany.com/sustainability.