Sustainable packaging: Coca-Cola Enterprises issues Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report

-- Packaging Digest, 6/16/2010 10:28:30 AM

Coca-Cola Enterprises announced that the company improved water efficiencies, increased internal recycling rates and reduced its reported carbon footprint in 2009. The progress is detailed in the company's fifth company-wide Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CRS) Report, Clear on Our Commitments: Our Journey to 2020.

The report provides a comprehensive look at the company's progress towards "Commitment 2020," the set of goals CCE announced last year in each of its five strategic CRS focus areas -- Energy Conservation/Climate Change, Water Stewardship, Sustainable Packaging/Recycling, Product Portfolio/Balanced and Active Lifestyle, and Diverse and Inclusive Culture.

"Last year, we set ambitious goals that we are committed to achieving by the year 2020," said John F. Brock, chairman and chief executive officer. "This report demonstrates the steady progress we are making on our journey as we strive to become a sustainability leader in the Coca-Cola system and across the beverage industry."

CCE calculated its global operational carbon footprint at 5.4 million metric tons, a reduction of 11.5 percent from its previously reported 2007 footprint. While the company acknowledges that a proportion of this reduction is the result of refined data gathering processes, it shows that its considerable investment in energy-efficient technology is paying dividends. CCE has implemented a wide range of environmentally-friendly technologies in its production plants, fleet, and sales and marketing equipment, as well as invested in renewable energy such as solar panels and fuel cells.

Through internal recycling initiatives, the company says it achieved an average of 92 and 99 percent waste recycling rates at its North American and European facilities, respectively. CCE also reduced its water use ratio to 1.67 liters of water used to make one liter of product using water-saving technologies and monitoring and targeting systems, which is an improvement of more than 3.5 percent from 2008.

CCE's latest CRS Report, which achieves B-level compliance with the G3 guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), is available at http://www.cokecce.com . Comments and feedback related to the Report can be posted at crs@cokecce.com.

In 2009, CCE was recognized for its CRS progress by several third-party sources, including being named #1 in the food and beverage industry in Newsweek's Green Rankings. CCE's CRS reports have also received a variety of awards. Its 2008 CRS Report won the Creativity in Communications Award from CorporateRegister.com, which is CCE's third consecutive win in that category, and was shortlisted for the Ceres-ACCA Sustainability Reporting Awards. Other CRS report awards include two Golden Peacock Awards (corporate social responsibility reporting) and Best Overall Report Runner-up from CorporateRegister.com.

2009 CRS Report Highlights:

-- Calculated its global carbon footprint at 5.4 million metric tons, a reduction of 11.5 percent from its previously reported 2007 footprint

-- Reduced its water use ratio to 1.67 liters of water per liter of product, an improvement of more than 3.5 percent from 2008

-- Reduced beverage calories in U.S. schools by 88 percent since 2006 through the American Beverage Association School Beverage Guidelines and supported First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! campaign by leading the beverage industry's labeling initiative, Clear on Calories

-- Achieved an average of 92 and 99 percent waste recycling rates at its North American and European facilities respectively and recovered more than 160 metric tons of aluminum and PET from the marketplace in North America

-- Expanded its North American hybrid fleet by 194 trucks bringing its total to 336, the largest hybrid fleet in North America

-- Introduced the PlantBottle, a fully recyclable PET bottle made from a blend of petroleum-based materials and up to 30 percent of plant-based materials

-- Co-signed the Copenhagen Communique to demonstrate the company's support of an equitable deal on climate change

-- Conducted its first ever global CRS in Action Week, engaging 70,000 employees and key stakeholders across its territories to demonstrate CCE's commitment to corporate responsibility and sustainability and its local communities

-- Conducted its first global Employee Engagement Survey and found significantly improved levels of employee engagement

Coca-Cola Enterprises is the world's largest marketer, producer and distributor of bottle and can liquid nonalcoholic refreshment. CCE sells approximately 80 percent of The Coca-Cola Company's bottle and can volume in North America and is the sole licensed bottle for products of The Coca-Cola Company in Belgium, continental France, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Monaco, and the Netherlands.

SOURCE: Coca-Cola Enterprises

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