p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; line-height: 120%; text-align: left; }p.western { }a:link { color: rgb(0, 0, 255); }
The company’s 7 new 2020 goals aim at minimising the environmental footprint, improving production efficiency and developing communities, while supporting the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Coca-Cola HBC, ranked global beverage industry sustainability leader by Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) earlier this month, announces new sustainability targets.
By 2020 the company intends to:
- Take 40% of the total energy used from renewable and clean energy sources
- Recover at least an average of 40% of the packaging introduced to the market
- Source 20% of the total PET used from recycled PET and/or PET from renewable material
- Reduce the amount of primary packaging by 25% per litre of beverage produced
- Certify over 95% of key agricultural ingredients against the Coca-Cola system’s Sustainable Agricultural Guiding Principles
- Invest at least 2% of its annual pre-tax profit in communities
- Double the number of employees taking part in volunteering initiatives during work time to 10% of its people
The seven new targets build on the initial 2020 commitments announced last year to reduce water and direct carbon emission intensity of the company by 30% and 50% respectively.
In the last couple of years, Coca-Cola HBC reduced its water usage by 2.1 billion litres, equivalent to a glass of water to everyone on Earth. In the last five years, the global carbon footprint of its products was reduced by 1.07 million tonnes as a result of investing in energy efficient and low-carbon technologies. This is comparable to the total annual greenhouse gas emissions of over 200,000 passenger cars.
In 2015, the company invested €8.2 million – 2.3 % of its pre-tax profit – to support community wellbeing, environmental, water stewardship and youth development, partnering with more than 230 NGOs.
Dimitris Lois, Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola HBC, said: “The ambitious targets we announce today reflect our commitment to inspire a better future for our people and the communities we serve. These are part of our overall strategy that established Coca-Cola HBC as a leader in sustainability among beverage companies, and show that we are determined to grow our business responsibly, profitably and sustainably.”
A product for everyone, for every occasion – choice and innovative packaging
People consume our products every day in the 28 countries, where Coca-Cola HBC operates. The company offers a variety of soft drinks, juice and water products to serve the changing consumer needs. Coca-Cola HBC offers one of the most diverse product portfolios to consumers with close to one third of sales in 2015 coming from juices, waters and ready-to-drink tea, compared to 10% in 2001. The company sales of juice products grew by 8% in 2015. Low and no calorie sparkling soft drinks account for 7% of total sales, growing at a high rate, contributing 25% of additional volume sold in 2015.
Coca-Cola HBC also focuses on offering its drinks in innovative packaging. By employing state-of-the-art technologies, we have introduced bottles which contain more than 50% recycled material. Further, our “Twist” bottles are 22% lighter than previous containers. PLANTBottle® usage significantly increased by an outstanding 254% last year. PLANTBottles® contain 30% plant based material, and are fully recyclable. They are now available in 10 of the 28 markets where Coca-Cola HBC operates, and more will be joining next year.
2015 key performance highlights:
- 33.311 employees
- 43.000 suppliers
- €1.3 billion spent in direct procurement
- €271 million total taxes paid
- 11.7 % direct carbon emissions reduction year-on-year
- Energy use ratio improved by 7.2% year-on-year
- 19.4% increase of recycled PET usage year-on-year
- 87% sustainable engagement score
Read more about Coca-Cola HBC sustainability performance at http://coca-colahellenic.com/en/sustainability/.
About Coca-Cola HBC Group
Coca-Cola HBC is a leading bottler of the brands of The Coca-Cola Company in terms of volume, with sales of more than 2 billion unit cases. It has a broad geographic footprint with operations in 28 countries, serving a population of approximately 589 million people. Coca-Cola HBC offers a diverse range of non-alcoholic ready to drink beverages in the sparkling, juice, water, sport, energy, tea and coffee categories. Coca-Cola HBC is committed to promoting sustainable development in order to create value for its business and for society. This includes providing products that meet the beverage needs of consumers, fostering an open and inclusive work environment, conducting its business in ways that protect and preserve the environment and contribute to the socio-economic development of the local communities. Coca-Cola HBC is ranked beverage industry leader by the Dow Jones Sustainably World and Europe Indices, and is also included in the FTSE4Good Index.
Coca-Cola HBC has a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: CCH) and its shares are listed on the Athens Exchange (ATHEX: EEE). For more information, please visit http://www.coca-colahellenic.com/
About Dow Jones Sustainability Indices
The DJSI were launched in 1999 as the first global sustainability benchmarks. The indices are offered cooperatively by RobecoSAM and S&P Dow Jones Indices. The group tracks the stock performance of the world's leading companies in terms of economic, environmental and social criteria. The indices serve as benchmarks for investors who integrate sustainability considerations into their portfolios, and provide an effective engagement platform for companies who want to adopt sustainable best practices. Following an evaluation of a range of general and industry-specific issues only the top 10% are accepted for inclusion. For more information visit http://www.sustainability-indices.com/
