Corporate Responsibility:

Water Stewardship

REDUCE, RECYCLE, REPLENISH:
We are working to establish a sustainable operation in which we use one liter of water for every liter of product we produce – what we call water neutrality.

WE WILL:

  • Reduce our plant water usage ratio by 10 percent
    by 2010
  • Help protect watersheds everywhere we operate

Water is a finite natural resource and the number one ingredient in our beverages. Water conservation requires constant innovation and has been a company priority for years. As a leader in the global Coca-Cola system, we remain focused on conserving water in our operations. We are committed to reducing it an additional three percent by 2010 and remain focused on conserving water in our operations. As water comes under increasing stress, we are accelerating innovative conservation efforts such as incorporating air rinsers instead of water rinsers on our production lines, and are working with NGOs and government agencies to enhance water stewardship efforts in our communities.

REDUCE
Water is the main ingredient in everything CCE manufactures. In addition to the water content of our beverages, we use water during our purification process and to clean packaging, wash equipment and perform many related tasks. Taking all usage into account, today our facilities average 1.77 liters of water for every liter of finished product. Aided by the development and implementation of our water conservation toolkit, we saved approximately 1.85 gigaliters of water from 2006 to 2007. We have shared this toolkit with The Coca-Cola Company, which has worked with the World Wildlife Fund to adapt and broaden the toolkit’s availability to other companies.

Our goal now is to reduce average usage from 1.77 liters to 1.6 liters per liter of product, a reduction of approximately 10 percent, by 2010 through a three-year investment of $15 million in water- saving technologies. For example, in a number of plants, ionized air rinsers have replaced of traditional water rinsing to clean our packaging, saving 66 million liters a year. A similar cleaning system at a facility in San Antonio, TX, saves 24.6 million liters a year and has earned a Water Saver Award from the San Antonio Water System.

Even in developed areas like North America and Western Europe, water scarcity is becoming an increasingly important concern. Company facilities in the southeastern United States have been challenged to do more as the region copes with severe drought. We are working to accelerate our planned water reduction efforts while identifying innovative solutions and employee awareness programs that encourage conservation at the office and at home.

REPLENISH
An emerging concept for us is how we can protect and replenish water in areas where we operate. This is an evolving concept with creative solutions uncovering the potential for greater local impact. Our facilities are examining ways to more efficiently and effectively capture and return water and protect watersheds.
For example, in Grigny, France, our production facility is continuing their pilot of a reed filter garden that will return wastewater to the purity of rainwater (pictured below). The Seine Normandy Water Agency has endorsed the project and is participating in the analysis and development. Additionally, over the past five years, we have worked with local authorities and industries on community efforts to preserve our mineral water source at Chaudfontaine in Belgium.

As we look for solutions to partner with our communities to replenish local water supplies, the reuse of concentrate barrels at our Baltimore, MD, facility is helping preserve the Chesapeake Bay.  This project converts large 55-gallon drums into rainwater barrels for contribution to the Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay to distribute in the community.  Collecting rainwater keeps polluted runoff from reaching the Chesapeake while easing demand on public water systems for outdoor watering.

Outside of our own operations, we are working in partnership with The Coca-Cola Company and the WWF to protect freshwater sources.  Our goal is to measurably conserve seven key freshwater river basins, including the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo, which forms the U.S. – Mexico border in Texas, and the U.S. Southeast Rivers and Streams.
Water Stewardship