Water Stewardship at Coca-Cola Hellenic

As populations grow and become more affluent, demand for freshwater grows. Since the world’s freshwater is finite, there is competing demand for this vital resource: for drinking water and sanitation, agriculture, industry, and maintaining ecosystems. Climate change is expected to further disrupt water availability in many areas.

This emerging water crisis is not just a challenge for communities, NGOs, and governments. It is becoming a major strategic challenge for businesses, too. As a bev¬erage company, Coca-Cola Hellenic’s business depends on the availability and quality of local freshwater sources. Consequently, water stewardship is a central part of its sustainability agenda. The company’s comprehensive strategy is underpinned by the CEO Water Mandate and focuses on:

• Ensuring the sustainability of water extraction
  
• Reducing water use within operations
• Treating 100 percent of wastewater
  
• Working with suppliers and others to reduce indirect water use
• Partnering with others to protect local watersheds

Since water is essentially a local issue, it is important to understand the context of water use. Each Coca-Cola Hellenic bottling plant conducts periodic risk assessments of local water resources: the health of the aquifer, the quality and quantity of supplies, and the needs of the business vis-à-vis other users. The plant then develops source water protection plans to address the challenges identified.

Over the last decade, Coca-Cola Hellenic has focused on reducing and recycling water in manufacturing processes. More than 90 percent of bottling operations have been certified to the environmental management system standard ISO 14001, and all are scheduled to be certified by 2012. Since 2004, water-use efficiency has improved by 19 percent. This concerted program has involved setting year-on-year targets, developing toolkits, implementing projects, conducting audits, and sharing best practice.

Pollution is another aspect of the water crisis. In some territories, municipal facilities cannot treat wastewater to a level that supports aquatic life – the stan¬dard required within the Coca-Cola system. In 2003, the company therefore committed to build on-site wastewater treatment facilities wherever needed. The company now operates 43 such facilities, ensuring that over 97 percent of wastewater is treated. In addition, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of wastewater has been reduced by 70 percent compared to 2004. The commissioning of the last facility in 2011 will lead to 100 percent treatment of wastewater.

As water-saving programs in company operations mature, Coca-Cola Hellenic’s focus moves increasingly on indirect water use. Calculations show that its supply chain accounts for 98 percent of its wider water footprint; operations represent only 2 percent.

Agricultural crops – especially sugar – represent the bulk of this footprint. Coca-Cola Hellenic is a founding member of the European Water Footprint Sustainability Assessment Sounding Board for Sugar, which brings the company together with The Coca-Cola Company, Water Footprint Network, academia, and sugar companies to better understand the water footprint of beet sugar and to assess its sustainability within a local context.

In addition to environmental dimensions, the water crisis has critical implications for human health and development. As the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals approaches, one-third of the world’s population still lack access to safe water and sanitation.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the worst-affected region. In Nigeria – the only territory where the company operates in the region – bottling plants already provide access to community taps, bore¬holes, and water tanks. In 2011, this support will be taken to a new level as part of the Replenish Africa Initiative, a $30 million commitment by The Coca-Cola Company and others to give two million people on the continent access to clean water by 2015.

As the water crisis escalates, however, efforts must be intensified. Coca-Cola Hellenic has therefore committed to improve its water efficiency by 40 percent by 2020, as compared to 2004, and to stabilize absolute water use. The company is deepening its engagement with NGOs, government agencies, suppliers, and others to raise awareness, address water use in the supply chain, and protect watersheds.

In addition to addressing water use in its value chain, Coca-Cola Hellenic is committed to protect local watersheds. To date, the company has established partnerships with NGOs, governments, and UN agencies to develop programs that benefit local ecosystems and communities. Since poor governance contributes to the water crisis, initiatives that promote better water governance are also supported.

Rivers are a particular focus, given the wide-ranging threats they face, from over-extraction and over-fishing to agricultural run-off and infrastructure. The company’s projects now cover all major river basins in its territories. The most longstanding is the Green Danube partnership with the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River. Since 2005, this partnership has worked to restore wet¬lands, sup¬port better river basin management, and conduct awareness campaigns in 10 countries. A new transboundary project addresses plastic pollution in the Tisza, an important Danube tributary. Other partnerships include restoring the endangered Yelnya Bog with Birdlife Belarus and restocking the Vistula with salmon together with WWF.

Building public awareness and understanding is also critical. To demonstrate the importance of rivers to local ecological, economic, and social well-being, the company supports high-profile river festivals. Danube Day, the world’s largest river festival, is celebrated in eight countries. In 2010, 480 NGOs and other organizations helped to run 140 events, from scientific seminars and roundtables to eco-camps, community cleanups, and cultural performances. Similar festivals celebrate the Volga, Dnieper, Sava, Tisza, and Vistula and are the annual culmination of conservation, education, and awareness-raising activities.

To encourage participation in conservation activities, Coca-Cola Hellenic mobilizes volunteers from its workforce, as well as local communities and businesses. The aim is for programs to be community-owned and self-sustaining. Across Ireland, for example, over 100 groups of volun¬teers care for rural beaches as part of the Clean Coasts initiative.

Teaching young people about water sustainability is another im¬portant aspect and Coca-Cola Hellenic works with governments and NGOs to develop educational resources. On World Water Day 2010, children from schools across Nigeria visited newly constructed wastewater treatment facilities to learn about protecting water quality. In Europe, the award-winning Danube Box tool-kit has reached more than one million schoolchildren in eight countries. In Italy, the company published a book, The Mystery of the Disappear¬ing Water, which has been used by 3,500 schools.