Coca-Cola (\u201cCoke\u201d or the \u201cCompany\u201d) is the world\u2019s largest beverage company. The Company owns or licenses more than 500 beverage brands, primarily sparkling beverages but also a variety of still beverages such as waters, juices, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, and sports drinks. Coke products, sold in the United States since 1886, are today sold in more than 200 countries. Water is the main ingredient in all of these products and as a result, continued access to sufficient water resources is critically important to the success of the Company. Climate change threatens to impact both the quality and consistent supply of water. Rising temperatures can lead to droughts and accelerate the melting of glaciers, an important source of freshwater worldwide. In addition, changing weather patterns may decrease global agricultural productivity, limiting the supply of key commodities such as sugarcane, corn, citrus, coffee and tea, which are important inputs for Coke products. Coke recognizes that climate change is a major threat to commerce and has adopted comprehensive business practices to minimize the negative effects.<\/p>\n
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Steps to Address Effects of Climate Change<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Coke has a robust water stewardship program and continues to work on improving water usage efficiency, treating wastewater and achieving the goal of full replenishment of the water it uses in production and bottling. In order to mitigate water supply dislocation, the Company regularly assesses water-related risks and has a formal water risk management program. In 2015, Coke conducted a global plant-level assessment and implemented Source Water Protection Plans (SWPP) detailing specific risk-mitigation actions to address water supply issues at each facility. Coke also uses its leverage to require its bottling partners to implement similar source water protection plans. In addition to focusing on water efficiency, the Company has taken extensive measures to treat the wastewater it produces. All of Coke\u2019s plants are in compliance with, and in many cases exceed, local wastewater treatment regulatory standards. Recognizing that the most meaningful impact often happens at the public policy level, Coke routinely collaborates with other companies, governments and NGOs to advocate for policy reforms aimed at improving water availability and quality.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In addition to the critical need for reliable water, it is imperative for Coke to maintain a secure, sustainable supply of agricultural ingredients. To that end, Coke has developed Sustainable Agriculture Guiding Principles (SAGP) which set expectations of suppliers and aim to address sustainability challenges specific to agriculture by encouraging better growing practices. The SAGP establishes principles at the individual farm level for human rights, environmental sustainability and farm management. This includes requiring suppliers to protect the access and land rights of local communities with respect to natural resources. The principles are designed to provide a mutually beneficial foundation for the Company and its agricultural suppliers that encourages transparency and accountability across the supply chain. Coke has also partnered with organizations such as WWF, TechnoServe, and Cargill, to help members of the supply chain test and refine new growing techniques. Together they are overseeing initiatives to improve crop yields for farmers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Looking to the Future<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Coke has a long-term goal to be a zero-waste company. A significant area to address in achieving this goal is improving the sustainability of product packaging. Coke has taken many actions already to reduce the environmental impact of its packaging, such as trimming the weight of plastic bottles and aluminum cans. The Company has also launched efforts to introduce a higher content of sustainable materials in its packaging, such as the PlantBottle packaging, the first fully-recyclable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle. However, PET bottles require significant natural resources to make and so the need to use recycled or renewable materials is paramount. Coke must continue to invest in initiatives to recover and recycle bottles it introduces to the market \u2013 it currently recovers only 37%. The Company has had success partnering with non-profit and government organizations in the past to tackle important sustainability challenges, and such collaboration will be critical to improving the wide and complex system of recycling programs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Word Count: 665<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sources<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n