Sustainable agriculture

Agricultural products are ingredients in so many of our drinks and the health of our business largely depends on the health of the agricultural supply chain. We also know that damage to natural resources and challenges faced by rural communities can have a huge impact on agricultural productivity.

Globally, the areas we focus on most are oranges, sugar (in particular sugar cane) and corn. We are working with our suppliers to make sure that our raw materials and ingredients are used in a sustainable way. Our global scale and long-standing working relationships with suppliers and processors give us an influential voice-and we are using it to help effect change.

While there is a lot of work to do to build a more sustainable supply chain, we have a number of initiatives already in place globally:

Bonsucro (Better Sugar Cane Initiative)

Since 2008 The Coca-Cola Company has been working with WWF and other stakeholders to establish a standard for more sustainable sugar cane growing and processing. Formerly known as the Better Sugar Cane Initiative, Bonsucro launched its production standard and certification system in November 2010. The standard is based on five principles:

• Obey the law
• Respect human rights and labour standards
• Manage input, production and processing efficiencies to enhance sustainability
• Actively manage biodiversity and ecosystem services
• Continuously improve key areas of the business.

The standard evaluates more than 40 indicators on the environmental, social and economic impacts of sugarcane production. In June 2011, a sugar mill in São Paulo, Brazil, became the first to be certified under Bonsucro's new standard, and our system was the first buyer of the mill's certified sugar.

Promoting more sustainable farming globally

With partners such as WWF and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), we have contributed to 27 sustainable agriculture initiatives in 22 countries. The projects we are a part of are improving livelihoods for farming families, increasing crop yields while reducing costs and reducing environmental impacts.