The Coca Cola Company is dependent upon water for the production of their beverages and the ingredients used to make them. Water is an essential part of the agricultural process that harvests citrus and sugarcane, key ingredients in the Coca-Cola recipe.
The future of Coca-Cola products could be compromised if water use isn’t carefully monitored by the corporation. Estimates indicate that two-thirds of the world population will live with moderate to severe water shortages by the year 2025.
How is the Coca-Cola Company controlling the water variable in their future profit equation? Are there sustainable development practices in place to ensure that Coca-Cola products will still line grocery shelves by the year 2025?
This week, Lisa Manley, Director of Environmental Communications for Coca-Cola, attended the United Nations Global Compact CEO Water Mandate Conference in Cape Town, South Africa. In a telephone interview Manley told WaterWideWeb, “At this past meeting in Cape town, we focused much of our conversation around public policy, the human right to water, and water disclosure”.
This week, the CEO Water Mandate released a Guide to Responsible Business Engagement with Water Policy. The CEO Water Mandate also shared a working document on Emerging Corporate Practice and Stakeholder Expectations with the Human Right to Water.
As an endorsee of the CEO Water Mandate, the Coca-Cola Company adheres to the six elements of the mandate with respect to corporate policy on water efficiency practices. The Mandate elements include direct operations, supply chain management, wastershed/catchment and community engagement, collective action, public policy advocacy and transparency.
The international partnerships coordinated by the CEO Water Mandate provide a forum where companies can share best practices and discuss the trials and triumphs each encountered with respect to the six elements of the CEO Water Mandate. “If the communities we serve are not sustainable, than we don’t have a sustainable business”, said Manley.
To meet rising challenges presented by water concerns, the Coca-Cola Company has established several guidelines to achieve the company’s global water stewardship goal.
Proper industrial waste water management practices are a chief commitment of the Coca-Cola Company. Currently, 97 percent of the company’s manufactured wastewater is treated before being released back in to the environment.
By the end of 2010, the Coca-Cola Company hopes to have 100 percent of their manufacturing waste water effectively treated before being discharged into the environment.
The current standard of 97 percent treated industrial wastewater discharge and the 100 percent goal of the Coca-Cola Company, contrasts sharply with the statistics of industrial wastewater discharge that occurs in the developing world. Shockingly, 70 percent of untreated industrial wastewater is released back into the environment in developing countries.
The Coca-Cola Company operates on a reduction, recycle, and replenishment framework with respect to corporate water use. Firstly, the company endeavors to reduce water use while increasing the water volume of beverages produced.
Secondly, the company works toward recycling water and carefully processing wastewater before it is discharged back into the environment.
Thirdly, the Coca-Cola Company replenishes water in local communities and the environment through maintenance of watersheds and community water programs. By 2012, the Coca-Cola Company hopes to improve their water use efficiency by 20 percent. To date, the company has witnessed an improvement in water efficency over the past seven consecutive years.
Thus far, Coca-Cola has invested in 250 water projects in 70 countries. These projects include watershed protection, rain water harvesting, and efficient use of agricultural water.
Later this month, the Coca-Cola Company will release their 2009 Sustainability Review. “Data provided in this review will be verified by a third party”, assured Manley. Through strategic partnerships with the World Wildlife Foundation, the Nature Conservancy, and the Global Environmental & Technology Foundation, the Coca-Cola Company has quantified the benefit of their replenishment efforts, and the Water Footprint of their production process.
Major corporations like the Coca-Cola Company are held accountable to a significant standard of corporate stewardship and social responsibility. Mass production of beverages and agricultural products should be carefully monitored to ensure that the entire manufacturing process from planting the sugarcane to pouring the first glass of Coca-Cola is sustainable.
In the case of the Coca-Cola Company, their cost-benefit analysis with respect to water management is moderated by the company’s global water stewardship. In a world where the population is growing and the natural resources are diminishing, the active participation of large corporations in water management is essential to securing an environmentally stable future for everyone.
If you liked this article, you should also read:
The Starbucks Venti Plan for Saving Water
The Diplomacy of Water: The U.S & The Water for the Poor Act
The Politics of Water in Australia
Tour Responsibly: Expanding Profits and Protecting Coral Reefs
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