Africa's Coca-Cola: Green Solutions
The Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) prioritises people and sustainability. Their strategy focuses on creating solutions that make their business resilient and tackle current and future challenges, all while benefiting the environment.
Water is a top concern for Coca-Cola because it is their primary ingredient and vital for the communities they serve. The Coca-Cola Company's 2030 Water Security Strategy aims to improve water security by working with partners to provide reliable access to clean water for people and ecosystems around their operations. This helps improve lives, protects against water-related disasters, and promotes sustainable water usage.
Within their own operations, CCBA is committed to using water responsibly. They achieve this by reducing water consumption, reusing water, and treating wastewater. For instance, they opened a new wastewater treatment plant in Kenya to reduce their environmental impact. This plant treats and recycles wastewater for non-drinking purposes like irrigation and cleaning.
Similarly, in Botswana, CCBA partnered with a university to donate treated water for agricultural irrigation. Their new water treatment plant ensures clean water is returned to the environment, making them fully compliant with regulations.
When it comes to packaging, CCBA promotes a circular economy to minimise waste and carbon emissions. They are increasing the use of recycled content in their packaging, expanding refillable bottles, and collecting used packaging for recycling through Coca-Cola's World Without Waste initiative. They also collaborate to develop innovative packaging solutions.
An example of such collaboration is the PET Recycling Company (PETCO) founded in South Africa. Established by Coca-Cola and other industries, PETCO promotes and regulates PET plastic recycling, taking responsibility for recovering and recycling beverage bottles. The success of this model has led to its expansion into three more African markets, with plans for further growth.
CCBA recognises the importance of partnerships to achieve progress. They actively engage with governments, NGOs, communities, and others in their operational areas. This feedback loop allows them to learn, improve, and shape their business and sustainability strategies.
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Source: CCBA
