FDBusiness.com

Coca-Cola HBC, a leading bottler of The Coca-Cola Company, was named sustainability leader in the beverage industry by the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices assessment for a fourth consecutive year. Following a robust sustainability performance in 2016, particularly in the areas of labour practices, strategy for emerging markets, health and nutrition, and across the environmental dimension, the Company achieved a total score of 90, which is 38 points higher than the industry average.

Coca-Cola HBC serves approximately 600 million consumers across 28 established, developing and emerging markets on three continents. During the year, Coca-Cola HBC continued to focus on minimising its environmental impact further and driving positive change in collaboration with its partners by developing a sustainable value chain and supporting the communities to enhance their overall wellbeing.

Building on the improvements made in previous years, the amount of water used for producing a litre of beverage declined by 3% in 2016. The energy use ratio also declined by 5%, meaning that the company needs less energy to produce a litre of beverage. The equivalent of 37% of total packaging placed on the marketplace was recovered for recycling in 2016.

As a key developed market within the 28-country group, Coca-Cola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland places equal focus on maintaining its strong track record across these areas, and is on track to achieve its 2020 commitments in water, waste and energy reduction, while contributing to the Group targets.

Matthieu Seguin, General Manager of Coca‑Cola Hellenic Ireland & Northern, comments: “At Coca-Cola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland, sustainability is at the heart of our business and we hold ourselves accountable to deliver against an ambitious set of targets. An important part of our sustainability agenda is our commitment to minimise our impact on the environment and we are very proud that our achievements contribute to the group goals and have been recognised by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. In 2010, we set ambitious 2020 targets in the areas of water, waste and energy, and we are happy to report that some of these have already been achieved, with the rest on track to be delivered ahead of schedule. We are committed to continuing to reach the targets set by us as a company for 2020, while continuing to add value to local communities.”

Key sustainability highlights for the Ireland and Northern Ireland business include:

• Waste targets have been achieved 5 years ahead of schedule, with zero waste committed to landfill.
• 26.7 million litres of water saved compared to the previous year and have achieved an overall reduction in water of 16% from a 2010 baseline
• Saved more than 16 million megajoules of energy and have achieved an overall reduction in energy of 51% from a 2010 baseline
• 183 vehicles, almost half of the fleet, replaced with energy efficient models.
• The company reduced the usage of PET in Deep RiverRock Still 500ml bottle by 16% in 2016 – approximately 135 tonnes of plastic removed from the manufacturing process in the past year alone
• Platinum Status in Environmental Benchmarking Awards granted by the Business in the Community Northern Ireland.

Coca-Cola has a strong heritage across Ireland and Northern Ireland and has been refreshing local consumers for over 75 years. As bottling partner to the Coca-Cola Company for the island of Ireland, the largest operation is Coca‑Cola HBC Northern Ireland, located at Knockmore Hill plant in Lisburn, County Antrim. This facility employs over 450 staff to produce, distribute, market and sell a wide range of soft drinks. Coca‑Cola HBC Ireland has an office base at Huntstown Business Park, Ballycoolin, Dublin 11 with a staff of more than 300 based there and across a number of additional depots throughout the Republic of Ireland. The local portfolio includes international brands such as Coca‑Cola, Fanta, Sprite and Schweppes, as well as local brands Deep RiverRock and Fruice. As a major employer across the island of Ireland and a global brand, Coca-Cola contributes more than £10 million to the local economy through its supply chain.