The Coca-Cola Company and its global bottling partners, the Coca-Cola system, have announced that they have met their goal to replenish the equivalent amount of water used in their global sales volume back to nature and communities.

Coca-Cola is the first Fortune 500 company to announce achieving such an aggressive water replenishment target, said a statement from the company.

The Coca-Cola system and its bottling partners improved water use efficiency by 2.5 per cent from 2014 to 2015, adding to a cumulative 27 per cent improvement since 2004, it said.

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 litres of water to nature and communities in 2015 through community water projects, equalling the equivalent of 115 percent of the water used in Coca-Cola’s beverages last year, it added.

Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company, said: “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.”

“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,” he added.

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, said a statement.

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 programme aspects mentioned in the preceding sentence do not contribute to Coca-Cola’s replenish volume, it said.

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, it stated.

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.

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 litres of water used in its manufacturing processes back to local watersheds near our bottling plants through treated wastewater in 2015.

Carter Roberts, president and CEO, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), said: “All life depends on water, but less than 1 per cent 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.”

“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,” he concluded. – TradeArabia News Service