Coca-Cola Leading Efforts on Water Replenishment

Company and its partners aim to be the first food and beverage company to replenish all the water it uses.

August 27, 2015

STOCKHOLM – The Coca-Cola Company and its global bottling partners announced this week that they are on track to meet their 2020 water replenishment goal by the end of the year. As of now, the company is balancing the equivalent of about 94% of the water used in its finished beverages, based on 2014 sales volume.

Since 2004, Coca-Cola has replenished an estimated 40.5 billion gallons (153.6 billion liters) of water back to communities and nature through more than 200 community water projects in 61 countries. Last year, the company returned approximately 33.5 billion gallons (126.7 billion liters) of water used in its manufacturing processes back to communities and nature through treated wastewater. These combined efforts put Coca-Cola on track to be the first global food and beverage company to replenish all the water it uses back to communities and nature.

“While we have made significant progress toward making that goal a reality, we are more intent than ever to give back the equivalent of all the water that we use to communities and nature. And we will continue to do so after we meet the 100% goal,” said Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. “There is no resource more precious to human life and the health of our global ecosystems and economies than water. As a consumer of water, the Coca-Cola system has a special responsibility to protect this shared resource. This is why we set an aspirational goal of being water neutral by 2020.”

Coca-Cola is able to give back the amount of water equivalent to what it uses in its finished beverages and their production through replenishment projects, increasing water use efficiency in its plants, and returning water to watersheds and municipalities through wastewater treatment. Part of meeting its replenishment goal is engaging in diverse, locally focused community water projects. Each project works toward set objectives such as providing or improving access to safe water and sanitation, protecting watersheds, supporting water conservation and raising awareness on critical local water issues. Once projects are established, the company and its bottling partners work to ensure those projects remain sustainable within communities over time and continue to replenish water. These efforts, as well as new projects, frequently address local source water vulnerabilities and balance additional sales volume as Coca-Cola’s business continues to grow each year.

More information about Coca-Cola’s water stewardship program is available in their water stewardship report.

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