A Global View of Water

CEO Water Mandate

In early 2009 CCE endorsed the CEO Water Mandate of the United Nations Global Compact. In doing so, we pledged to improve water use in our own operations and our supply chain, as well as commit to working with governments and authorities to promote sustainable water management

WWF Partnership

Building on our previous efforts to be good stewards of freshwater resources, The Coca-Cola Company and WWF have combined international strengths and resources.  We aim to help conserve and protect fresh water around the world - in our Company's own facilities, in those of our bottling partners and in communities where we operate. While our partnership is global in scope, many of its commitments will be implemented locally.

Water Footprinting

To understand where the true extent of the water that is used to make our products we need to understand the water footprint of our whole supply chain. A product water footprint considers both direct (operational) and indirect (supply chain) freshwater use. This includes 'embedded' water - the water used to grow ingredients or produce packaging - in addition to the water used in production and in the drinks themselves.

In 2008 a pilot study with The Coca-Cola Company, WWF and the University of Twente calculated the water footprint of a 500ml PET plastic bottle of Coca-Cola produced at Coca-Cola Enterprises' Dongen site in the Netherlands which estimated that 35.4 litres of water go into its production. Of this water footprint, 99% is used growing ingredients and producing packaging. Growing the sugar beet for the sweetener accounts for 76% of the water footprint alone.

Next steps include exploring how Coca--Cola can work with key sugar suppliers and NGOs to identify potential partnerships and ways of making water use in agriculture more sustainable.

Replenish Africa Initiative & The South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup^™

In 2009, The Coca-Cola Company announced a $30 million commitment over the next six years to provide access to safe drinking water to communities throughout Africa through its Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN). Implemented by The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, RAIN will provide at least 2 million Africans with clean water and sanitation by 2015.

Throughout its worldwide marketing programmes around the South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup™ , Coca-Cola invited consumers to join it in its efforts to raise money for 'Water for Schools' - a RAIN initiative to provide clean water and sanitation to schools throughout Africa. The first ever 'Coca- Cola Celebration Award' was established to recognise the most outstanding and infectious goal celebrations and to raise awareness of the vital role clean drinking water plays in developing communities.

South Africa's Siphiwe Tshabalala was the eventual winner of the first Award, voted for by fans online. For every goal celebrated during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, Coca-Cola made a $1,500 contribution to "Water for Schools". With 145 goals scored, $217,500 was raised to fund the project and an additional $50,000 was donated on behalf of Tshabalala bringing the total amount raised to $267,500.

The Global Water Challenge

Since 2005, the Coca-Cola system has developed significant Community Watershed Partnerships, with more than 200 projects in 60 countries.  One of these is The Global Water Challenge (GWC)

The GWC was founded as an initiative of the United Nations Foundation with funding and support from The Coca-Cola Company. The idea is to help the international community to meet the world's water challenges by increasing awareness of and investment in innovative safe water and sanitation solutions.