The Region of Murcia is proud to be one of the main citrus producing areas where Coca-Cola acquires this raw material to make some of its varieties. In this way, the so-called ‘vegetable garden of Europe’ has become, on its own merits, a strategic supplier of the main brand of soft drinks on a global scale. Together with the Valencian Community, Andalusia and Catalonia, the four territories are part of the ‘Sustainable Citrus’ project, which consists of producers -small, medium and large- implementing sustainable irrigation and fertilization practices to reduce water consumption and the environmental impact associated with its production. Precisely, this initiative made it possible to close 2019 with a total saving of 676 million liters of water in the 750 hectares of plantations that have been joined, compared to 170 million liters the previous year.
This environmental commitment of Coca-Cola is part of its European sustainability strategy ‘We advance’ and which includes its 2019 Sustainability Report, through the line of action ‘Supply Chain’, one of the six axes that back up this plan of for 2025 (the rest are ‘Beverages’, ‘Containers’, ‘Society’, ‘Water’ and ‘Climate’). The study also shows that all the pulp and paper used in their beverages last year complied with the principles of sustainable agriculture, as well as 88% of the sugar.
These data confirm the purpose that the brand has with society from the beginning: to refresh the world and make a difference, which has not changed despite the uncertainty caused by the current health, economic and social situation. Added to this declaration of intent is its firm commitment to carry out a more sustainable activity and guarantee a better future for all.
It focuses on six axes: drinks, packaging, people, water, climate and the supply chain.
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Redouble efforts
“We are facing an uncertain and demanding future marked by great challenges, but also by opportunities for those companies that integrate responsible business management capable of anticipating risks and adapting to new realities”, underlines Ana Gascón, Director of Corporate Responsibility Coca-Cola Iberia, who affirms that “Coca-Cola will continue to bet on leading the transformation necessary to address sustainable development, creating opportunities for social and environmental development and adding projects and alliances to move forward together towards our commitments.”
A vision shared by Carmen Gómez-Acebo, director of Sustainability at Coca-Cola European Partners Iberia, highlights that “it is time to redouble our efforts and reach alliances that allow us to guarantee a more sustainable future for our planet. For this reason, at Coca-Cola we will continue to work with our partners, stakeholders and with the communities in which we operate to support the recovery process and take advantage of our capacity to reach out to implement ambitious measures against climate change.
In figures
- 25% packaging
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are made from recycled plastic
- 56% sales
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are low-calorie or calorie-free drinks
- 3.782 million
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liters of water has returned to nature
Well defined roadmap
Coca-Cola’s 2019 Sustainability Report, within the ‘Drinks’ area of action, confirms its commitment to leading the change towards the production of soft drinks with a lower or no sugar content, making available to the public a range of alternatives that they adapt to your tastes and needs. In fact, in 2019 it achieved that 56% of its sales corresponded to references low in or without calories. Encouraged by these figures, the brand is committed to continuing to reformulate its products, developing a responsible marketing policy (it continues without advertising its catalog to children under 12 years of age) and innovating in natural, non-caloric sweet ingredients that may represent truly novel options.
Regarding the ‘Containers’ axis, it is moving towards a production without waste. It has already taken important steps in this regard and, today, its packaging already has 25% recycled plastic and the goal is to raise that percentage to 50% in just two years. In parallel, last year Coca-Cola invested 180 million euros in innovation and ecodesign projects in Western Europe. Among other advances, it has managed to manufacture the first bottle suitable for food use with recycled plastic material recovered from marine environments thanks to the ‘Circular Seas’ project.
In the ‘Society’ section, the mission of putting people at the center of the organization is already bearing fruit, through the creation of safe and diverse work environments, investing in the personal growth and talent of its employees and betting on female talent, who already occupies 49% of management positions at Coca-Cola Iberia and 28% at Coca-Cola European Partners, as well as the employability of young people.
To guarantee ‘Water’, it works to take care of its quality and reduce its impact. Through various projects throughout the country, it has been possible to return 3,782 million liters of water to nature, 129% of the water contained in its products. The ‘Climate’ is the last axis of the brand, which in Spain, as part of the #PorElClima Community and in its fight against global warming, carries out its activity reducing since 2010 its direct emissions by 42.05% and by 30, 8% the emissions of its value chain, working on its decarbonisation objectives.
It has also launched the #PorElClima Hospitality platform in order to support this sector in its ecological transition towards a low-carbon economy.
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