Coca

Coca-Cola has announced a new set of targets to help make its supply chain more sustainable. The drinks manufacturer has expanded its partnership with global charity the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to work together on Coca-Cola’s sustainability programme. As part of this campaign, the drinks firm has established an ambitious series of targets to achieve by 2020. Among the goals which will be introduced throughout the worldwide supply chain is a commitment to become 25 per cent more water efficient compared to 2010. The company says that between 2004 and 2012 it improved efficiency by more than a fifth, but is now looking to make even more drastic savings. Perhaps one of the aims which will affect logistics and transport is the plan to cut the carbon emissions of each individual drink by another quarter, from sourcing ingredients to refrigerating the finished products and delivering them to retailers. WWF says that in the course of the relationship between the two organisations so far, five million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions have been prevented throughout Coca-Cola’s worldwide manufacturing operations. But the manufacturer, which also produces brands such as Sprite, Fanta and Minute Maid, is looking further down its supply chain towards the sourcing of key ingredients, having set out guidelines for sustainable farming on resources such as sugar cane and beet, palm oil, paper fibre, oranges, tea and coffee. To enable the firm to achieve another ambitious goal of ensuring that every PET plastic bottle contains up to 30 per cent plant material by 2020, Coca-Cola has committed to working with WWF to assess which plant materials will be suitable for use. The criteria will include both the environmental and social impact of each potential material, ensuring that resources are sourced responsibly. “As we face a resource-stressed world with growing global demands on food and water, we must seek solutions that drive mutual benefit for business, communities and nature,” says the company’s chairman and chief executive Muhtar Kent. WWF and Coca-Cola have been working together since 2007 on conservation projects to protect freshwater resources around the world. This extension of the partnership will also see the drinks brand expand these efforts to 11 regions across five different continents, including the Amazon and Zambezi basics and the catchments of the Great Barrier Reef. Looking for supply chain jobs? At Cast UK our team of expert consultants can help you find your ideal role.