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Water Stewardship Overview
Understanding Our Water Risks
Our Water Stewardship Strategy
Reducing Our Water Use and Improving Our Efficiency
Our Water Footprint
Recycling, Reclaiming, and Responsible Treatment
Protecting and Replenishing Our Watersheds
Partnerships and Public Policy
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 Our Water Footprint
In 2009, we conducted a pilot study at our Dongen plant in the Netherlands to calculate the water footprint of our flagship product, Coca-Cola. We completed this pilot using the University of Twente’s expertise and methodology. Results showed that a 500-milliliter Coca-Cola polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle has an embedded water footprint of 35.4 liters. (By comparison, initial indications are that the water footprint for a half-liter of milk is 500 liters and a personal computer is 20,000 liters.) Our supply chain accounts for 99 percent of the water footprint, with the agricultural production of sugar beet representing 76 percent of the product’s total water use.
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Water Footprint* of a 500-mL Coca-Cola in Dongen, the Netherlands
– click IMAGE to enlarge –
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The pilot highlighted how the footprint can vary significantly depending on the calculation methodology used. A universal methodology has not yet been accepted, and we fully expect water footprint accounting to change with increasing experience and understanding. These initial water footprint results are, therefore, likely to change over time. However, with The Coca-Cola Company we have worked in partnership with others on water footprinting methodology and have been using this work to guide the development of a universally accepted water footprinting standard for the beverage industry. A second phase of our work in this area will be with our sugar suppliers to validate these results, identify impacts on nature and communities, and work together to find strategies to reduce agricultural water use.
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