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06/05/07
Remarks at the WWF Annual Conference
Beijing, China
E. Neville Isdell, Chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola
Company
As prepared for delivery
Mr. Yucai and Chief Anyaoku, thank you for that introduction.
It is an honor to be with you today at the annual meeting of
WWF on the 35th anniversary of World Environment Day.
I'm also honored to be in the presence of His Excellency Vice
Premier Zeng Peiyan and Minister Jia Zhibang of the State Forestry
Administration.
And it is a pleasure to be in the company of leaders dedicated
to preserving the diversity and abundance of life on Earth,
and to join with so many other distinguished speakers, including
the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan;
the Director General of WWF-International, Jim Leape; and the
President of WWF-US, Carter Roberts.
Today The Coca-Cola Company announced a new partnership with
WWF, as well as a new and ambitious pledge on water conservation
that has grown out of our work together. This collaboration
points the way to how private and non-profit sectors can and
must work together to provide real and meaningful solutions
to the world's water needs.
It's particularly gratifying to make this announcement in China.
China is an exciting market for our Company -- a market where
we see tremendous opportunities for business growth -- and one
where we are committed to growing our business responsibly and
sustainably.
With the Olympics roughly 400 days away, the world's eyes are
turned to China. We are proud to be one of the companies supporting
the spirit of the Olympics in Beijing.
My colleagues and I at The Coca-Cola Company have had the benefit
of working with Jim and Carter, and many of you, to create the
transformational water partnership I am here to introduce. The
formal launch of this relationship is important to me personally
as it reflects my core conviction that business is a force for
good in the world. Business, when done right, strengthens communities,
builds capacity, raises living standards and in the process
helps drive social and environmental improvement.
I came to this conviction through a circuitous path. I was
born in Northern Ireland but when I was 10, my family moved
to Zambia. I became a child of Africa, and fell in love with
the continent and its beautiful people, wildlife and ecology.
From my parents, I developed a love of nature and an appreciation
for the delicate balance needed to sustain the Earth's ecosystem.
I studied social science at university, and became a licensed
social worker. I even practiced for a short while. But I became
interested in business and saw the potential to be a part of
a dynamic global company that was creating opportunity throughout
the world. In 1966, I joined the bottling company in Zambia,
and I had a lot of explaining to do - to my friends and parents,
and to a couple of sociology professors in particular. They
challenged me to remain faithful to my ideals, wherever business
took me.
I have worked to do just that, and today, more than four decades
later, I feel that I'm being offered an important new opportunity
to meet that challenge.
We meet at a very special time, some
would say a pivotal time for environmental protection efforts.
Arguably, we have seen more focus
on environmental issues over the past year than in the last
twenty, driven by heightened public awareness of global climate
change, and its impact on water, biodiversity, agriculture and
human health. With greater awareness has come a growing commitment
-- by individuals, governments and businesses -- to take action.
There are many individuals and organizations that deserve credit
for providing distinctive leadership on environmental sustainability
throughout the world, and proposing practical solutions. WWF
has long been a global leader in this important campaign, with
a focus on protecting oceans and freshwater, saving species
and slowing the rate of climate change. We at The Coca-Cola
Company are proud to partner with you on the important work
of "Living Within One Planet."
At Coca-Cola, we pride ourselves on being a local
business that operates on a global scale -- a model that I know
WWF adheres to as well. Our bottling partners -- the companies
that actually manufacture and distribute our products -- are
local employers, purchasers of local goods and services, and
they in turn give back to the local communities that support
them.
To meet evolving local tastes, we recognize the need to constantly
adapt our beverage portfolio -- which ranges from sparkling
beverages to juices, coffees, teas, sports drinks, energy drinks,
water and more. We also recognize that our global position gives
us an opportunity to use our unique assets -- our human, financial
and technological capital -- to make a positive difference in
society.
We understand that this is enlightened self-interest. For us
to have a successful and sustainable business, we must invest
in and support the growth of sustainable communities and ecosystems.
Our sustainability commitment was reaffirmed last year when
The Coca-Cola Company became a member of the UN Global Compact.
We signed on because we support the ten universal principles
in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption.
I applaud Secretary-General Annan for his work to launch the
Compact, and for his subsequent leadership in encouraging businesses
to focus on the Compact's critical principles.
As The Coca-Cola Company continues to improve
our position in the beverage market around the world, our larger
commitment is to integrate economic growth with environmental
protection. To that end, we are focusing on three core environmental
priorities: packaging, energy and water.
At Coca-Cola, we see packaging not as waste, but as a valuable
resource for future use. By working to conserve natural resources
and lower CO2 emissions across the entire life cycle of a package
we are taking steps toward realizing this vision. From developing
packaging designs that use less materials to investing in technologies
and recovery systems that enable us to use more recycled materials,
we are committed to continuously improving the sustainability
of our packaging and our business.
As we explore ways to reduce our energy use and improve our
climate footprint, a primary focus is on our refrigeration equipment,
and the hydro-fluorocarbons (HFCs) used to cool our beverages.
HFCs are potent greenhouse gases regulated by the Kyoto Protocol.
We are innovating HFC-free solutions to keep our products cold
with less impact on the global climate.
We hope this work will be a catalyst for others to drive global
adoption of climate-friendly technologies. Already our "Refrigerants,
Naturally!" initiative has attracted five other global
companies who share our commitment -- along with Greenpeace
and UNEP.
Water is the main ingredient in nearly every beverage
that we make and without access to safe water supply our business
simply cannot exist.
Because of the critical importance of water not just to our
business, but to ecosystems, human health, progress and development,
The Coca-Cola Company is focusing on conserving and protecting
water for people, species and ecosystems throughout the world.
Much of the world is facing freshwater stress and scarcity.
The loss of freshwater biodiversity, with more than a 50% decline
in species populations since 1970, makes this clear. Wetlands
and rivers are the source of life and they are being destroyed
at an alarming rate. More than half the world's wetlands, which
cleanse water and help control flooding, have been lost in the
last century alone. Many of the world's largest rivers often
fail to reach the sea. And freshwater habitats and the species
they support are among the most endangered in the world.
More than one billion people do not have access to safe water
today; more than 2.5 billion lack adequate sanitation. And two-thirds
of the global population will live in water-stressed areas by
2025. These are problems that need immediate solutions.
Climate change will only make the water challenges worse, with
increased droughts, coastal flooding and more severe storms.
Addressing water issues today is one of the most urgent climate
adaptation priorities.
As I talk with people working on water issues I am inspired
by their optimism and their unwavering commitment to finding
solutions. Approaches grounded in a belief that conditions can
and will improve helps people to see this problem not through
a lens of near-term despair but rather through a lens focused
on long-term progress.
As a company, we bring knowledge and expertise to water issues,
operating nearly 900 plants throughout the world.
We have placed a high priority on understanding our global
water use and searching for new efficiencies in our operations.
A little background. In general terms, we make use of water
in our operations in two ways. Water is a core ingredient in
all of our beverages -- approximately 40% of the water we use
globally eventually becomes an ingredient in our finished products.
The remaining 60% of the water we use for beverage manufacturing
processes such as rinsing, cleaning, heating and cooling. This
water is commonly referred to as "wastewater," a term
I don't care for -- "waste" and "water"
used in the same phrase is misleading at best and mistaken at
worst.
At our plants we've developed ambitious and proven water conservation
programs... and we are making progress.
- Between 2002 and 2006, our volume of finished products grew
almost 15 percent, while total water consumption -- everything
from bottle cleaning to finished goods production - declined
more than 5 percent. More product. Less water.
The work we have done to date in measuring and managing water
globally provides a foundation for the next chapter of our work,
and it gives me the courage and the confidence to announce a
significant commitment today.
As the basis for our partnership, Carter Roberts challenged
us to be bold in our environmental commitments. We've taken
him up on that challenge.
Today, The Coca-Cola Company pledges to replace every drop
of water we use in our beverages and their production; to achieve
balance in communities and in nature with the water we use.
This goal is, admittedly, aspirational. It will be a multi-year
journey for our entire system, but it is a journey we have begun
and will continue to pursue in partnership with WWF.
Our pledge to replace the water we use has three core components:
Reduce, Recycle and Replenish. I'll take each in turn.
- Reduce: The Coca-Cola Company will set specific water
efficiency targets for global operations by 2008 to be the
most efficient user of water among peer companies.
We pledge to build on the improvements we have made in water
efficiency and this is a key element of the partnership we
are announcing today with WWF.
- Recycle: By 2010, we will return all the water that
we use for manufacturing processes to the environment at a
level that supports aquatic life and agriculture.
At Coca-Cola we have water treatment standards that are more
stringent than many local standards and nearly 85% of our
manufacturing facilities have implemented these standards,
again reflecting the commitment of our bottlers to water stewardship.
We are committed to 100% alignment among our manufacturing
facilities with our Company's stringent water treatment standards
by 2010.
- Replenish: So what do we mean by replenish? The
water that leaves our plants as finished products fulfills
the basic human need for hydration. If that need were not
met by our products, it would be met by other means.
Some might say our pledge to return the drops we use need
not include the water in our finished products, but we are
going a step further in including a third R in our commitment.
Our commitment to replenish means that on a global basis we
will give back by supporting healthy watersheds and sustainable
community water programs to balance the water used in our
finished beverages. We will do this by working on a wide range
of locally relevant initiatives, such as watershed protection,
community water access, rain water harvesting, reforestation
and agricultural water use efficiency.
Our Company recognizes a special responsibility with regard
to water stewardship at plants located in areas under water
stress, such as drought.
We continue to work with -- and learn from -- our bottling
partners in developing and implementing responsible water
management and community engagement in water stressed areas.
Replenishment does not necessarily mean we will balance product
water at each plant. It does mean we will focus, along with
our partners such as WWF, UNDP and USAID, to identify the
locations and projects where the need is greatest, and where
we can have a positive impact on communities and ecosystems.
We recognize that becoming "water neutral" in our
operations does not address the issue of embedded water in our
agricultural ingredients and packaging materials. Working with
WWF, we will seek opportunities to reduce water use in our supply
chain, beginning with sugar where we will expand our existing
collaboration on the Better Sugar Initiative.
This is a bold pledge -- to return the water we use. We recognize
that it can only be accomplished in partnership with others.
Our ability to achieve this ambitious goal rests on the support
of this expanding partnership with WWF along with our work with
other conservation and development organizations. Our aim,
ultimately, is to establish a truly water-sustainable business
on a global scale.
Our Company will need time and cooperation from our bottlers,
our suppliers and our conservation partners to accomplish the
goal of replacing the water we use. We will be open about our
progress and engage others to better understand what it takes.
This ambitious pledge is directly related to many elements
of our partnership. Now let me turn to the specifics of the
groundbreaking partnership we have announced between The Coca-Cola
Company and WWF and briefly touch on what we intend to achieve
together.
Today we announced an expansion of our work together to achieve
meaningful and large-scale results through a five-year effort
to conserve and protect freshwater resources supported by a
$20 million grant from our Company.
As I mentioned earlier, we will be working with WWF and our
bottlers on setting meaningful and ambitious targets for water
efficiency within our operations by next year. We also will
work collaboratively with our supply chain partners and WWF
to identify opportunities and set goals for water efficiency
improvement in our supply chain, which we have begun through
the Better Sugar Initiative.
The centerpiece of the partnership will focus on measurably
conserving seven of the world's most critical freshwater river
basins:
- China's Yangtze;
- Southeast Asia's Mekong;
- the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo of the Southwestern United States
and Mexico;
- the rivers and streams of the Southeastern United States;
- the rivers of the Mesoamerican Caribbean Reef;
- the East Africa basin of Lake Malawi; and
- The Danube.
These river basins span more than 20 countries in North America,
Europe, Africa and Asia. Their challenges vary greatly, from
dams that have outgrown their usefulness to agricultural run-off
issues to loss of habitat due to development and land reclamation.
I am proud to say that many of our bottling partners are already
in dialogue and partnership with WWF on these critical river
basins, including Swire here in China, Coca-Cola Enterprises,
Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling and others.
Together, we will develop plans to conserve the river basins
based on specific conservation priorities. And we are already
at work. Here in China in April, WWF and Coca-Cola participated
in the second Yangtze Forum. Our Company co-sponsored a business
sub-forum with HSBC to explore ways business can be involved
in helping protect and preserve the Yangtze.
And our bottler in Guatemala, ABASA, has partnered with WWF
to protect the health of the watershed that supplies its operations.
This is a win for the Coca-Cola bottling plant which will have
a healthy water supply provided by nature. And it is a win for
protection of the Mesoamerican Reef. A great example of the
power of this partnership.
Recognizing the impacts of climate change on the water cycle,
we also will work together on climate protection. WWF and Coca-Cola
experts have already led a series of energy and climate protection
workshops with many of our bottling partners. We are committed
to setting targets for climate-related emission reductions in
the next year.
What will the partnership mean in practical terms? Let me try
to paint the picture for you.
- I see a Coca-Cola hydrogeologist working with a WWF scientist
to design integrated watershed management tools -- and metrics
to measure their impact.
- I see a WWF expert on sustainable agriculture working with
us to support more efficient irrigation practices in our agricultural
supply chain.
- And I see WWF and Coca-Cola hosting community meetings to
engage a broader audience in a dialogue about how we all must
work together to protect and conserve the precious natural
resource of water.
We believe that there is huge potential for The Coca-Cola Company,
working with WWF and others, to make a real difference. Our
work will reach into every country where we have a presence,
including our rapidly growing operations here in China.
WWF and TCCC are two powerful brands with a history of building
credible connections on the initiatives we support. By working
together, we intend to harness the power of our brands to address
the freshwater challenges we face in this Century in a more
impactful way than either of us could alone.
Neither of our organizations has all the answers. Yet in combining
our rich supplies of passionate human capital, we expand our
ability to make real and lasting progress.
I look forward to working with all of you to make the vision
of "Living Harmoniously Within One Planet" a reality.
Thank you.
Read Isdell's October 16 speech at the WWF Annual Dinner, go
there »
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