STOCKHOLM — Aug. 25, 2015 — The Coca-Cola Company and its partners have replenished about 94 percent of water used in 2014, according to a press release.
The achievement puts the company on track to meet its goal of replenishing all water by 2020, noted the release.
Coca-Cola has implemented 209 community water projects in 61 countries to return about 153.6 billion liters of water to communities and nature, stated the release. It treated wastewater to return roughly 126.7 billion liters used in manufacturing process to communities and nature in 2014.
"There is no resource more precious to human life and the health of our global ecosystems and economies than water. As a consumer of water, the Coca-Cola system has a special responsibility to protect this shared resource. This is why we set an aspirational goal of being water neutral by 2020," said Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company, in the release. "While we have made significant progress toward making that goal a reality, we are more intent than ever to give back the equivalent of all the water that we use to communities and nature. And we will continue to do so after we meet the 100 percent goal."
The company has used replenishment projects and increased its plants water use efficiency to meet its goal, reported the release. Community water projects protect watersheds, improve access to safe water and sanitations, support water conservation and raise awareness of local water issues. Coca-Cola stays with these initiatives to ensure they remain sustainable over time.
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) partnered with Coca-Cola to design the methodology behind the company’s water replenishment efforts, reported the release.
"More and more companies now recognize that factoring nature into their decision-making is a smart business strategy. Coca-Cola’s commitment to water underscores that investing in nature can produce very positive returns for businesses and local communities," said Mark Tercek, president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy, in the release. "TNC is proud of its collaboration with Coca-Cola and congratulates the company and its bottling partners on a very significant achievement."
Click here to read the entire release.
