Sustainable Agriculture - Initiatives
 

Agricultural Water Initiative
In 2006, with funding from The Coca-Cola Company, Business for Social Responsibility launched the Agricultural Water Initiative to explore improved agricultural water management practices in sugarcane cultivation in India. The initiative is farm-based, working directly with farmers to effectively and efficiently reduce their water use and energy consumption, while increasing water quality, soil health and biodiversity.

In an ever-expanding and complex supply chain, multinational companies such as The Coca-Cola Company often serve as the only link between numerous individual suppliers. BSR saw that engaging multinational companies in this project could help corporations assess, monitor and reduce their impacts and more effectively manage environmental, social and economic challenges that affect the communities around their supply chains.

In the fall of 2006, a pilot project was launched in Maharashtra, India to gain a better understanding of sugar mill operations and the issues affecting sugarcane farmers. The findings from this pilot will be used to create sustainable water management tools and water management training for producers, targeting the Maharashtra sugarcane farm community. Through the Agricultural Water Initiative, BSR will work to create industry standard water management indicators and assessment tools. They also will expand the scope of the initiative to include a more diverse set of crops and regions, while engaging more businesses and NGOs in the effort.

Workplace Improvement Initiative
In El Salvador, we are working to improve workplace conditions by supporting a multi-stakeholder approach to the complex issue of child labor in sugarcane harvesting. Along with our bottling partner in El Salvador, we are supporting local efforts to improve compliance through expanded field monitoring and verification. Organizations such as the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Salvadoran government, the El Salvador Sugar Association and local nongovernmental organizations have made substantial progress in this area. These programs also include expanding educational opportunities for farm children. It is estimated that nearly 4,600 of the 5,000 children originally targeted by the ILO no longer work in the fields. We are now engaged in dialogue with our suppliers in Central America to expand the impact of the work through the region.

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