Coca-Cola's Sustainable Business Practices

The assignment delves into Coca-Cola's approach to sustainable development through innovation and investment. It examines their implementation of ISO 14001 standards, energy-efficient technologies like solar power and heat pumps, and optimized transportation routes. The document also highlights their packaging waste reduction strategies, emphasizing reuse, recover, and reduce principles. Finally, it discusses Coca-Cola's efforts to promote sustainable agriculture within their supply chain by collaborating with suppliers and upholding social and environmental responsibility standards.

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The coca cola company is a non-alcoholic beverage producing company and is also one
of the companies well known around the globe because of its different brands. The company
houses more than 21 billion dollar brands having its top most brands including Fanta, sprite and
diet coke. Other brands that remain at the top include the minute maid, vitamin water and
PowerAde. The company gives license to more than 500 brands of beverage which mainly
include the sparkling drinks and also water, juice and energy drinks among many others
(Berbard). The coca cola company has the largest beverage system and due to this reason, it is a
multinational that has reached more than 200 countries around the globe.
Operations
The coca cola company manages seven main operating systems in the globe and most of
these systems are geographically based. The latter include Europe, Middle East, Asia, and
America: bottling investment and corporate (Jay). Majority of the company’s revenue comes
from the bottling investment due to the sale of finished beverages. The other geographical
regions get their commerce from the sale and manufacture of beverage concentrates and syrups
(Ger and Russell).
The division of bottling and its investment gives much focus on the beverage company
that have owned operations in parts that are outside North America. This kind of segmentation
aids in maximization of efficiency in its efforts in production, distribution and the efforts that are
put in marketing (Mowen). The latter include a stock that lies in Mexico covering a stake of
approximately 28%, an outstanding 23% of European bottler coca cola Hellenic bottling,18%
owned by CCEP and monster and then 29% is owned by coca cola Amatil (a coca cola company
in Australia and also serving the surrounding regions (Glenone).

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Geographical Reach
Coca cola rung up to almost 55% outside the European countries in the year 2005 to
other countries In different regions like North America, Africa, Eurasia and the pacific region.
The noticeable international markets included Asia, Latin America and Europe since they
contributed about 35% of the total revenues of the year 2015 hen combined (Armus).
Sales and Marketing
The coca cola is one of the world`s most recognized brand of the company and it is also
the largest distributor of beverages around the globe. The latter is made up of company owned or
controlled bottling and distribution and also independently owned bottling partners, distributors,
wholesalers and retailers too (Chang). The beverages that bear the trademark operations that are
owned and licensed by the coca cola company account for more than 2 billion of the estimated
59 billion beverage servings of all types of beverages that are consumed globally every day. To
maintain the loyalty of its customers, the company spends an approximate of $ 4 billion in their
product promotion (this was just for 2016 analysis only).In most cases, the company advertises
through printing, radio, television among other advertising channels. The industry has also been
participating in the play that involves the non-soda goods (Chang).
Effects on the environment
The coca cola company has a target of minimizing the impacts its goods has on the
environment. The company has been setting annual targets since the year 2004 and has been
working tirelessly to achieve them by 2020 (Watters).

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Water factor
Water is given a top priority in the coca cola company. As far as it is concerned, it has a
priceless value for them. It is a resource that has seen the company grow up to this date and
hence they strain hard to meet its conservation requirements (Ger and Russell). The company has
developed three vital and basic principles based on water conservation strategy in all operations.
a) Water use: the company strives to protect the water resources that are supplying its
facilities, the reduction of the amount of water that is used in the production of soft drinks
and also the treatment of water up to the levels that support the aquatic life.
The company aims at partnering with the suppliers with an aim of minimizing the water footprint
across the overall value chain (Berbard).
b) The company also aims at investing in the community water conservation projects aimed
at replenishing water use through innovative technologies.
Climate and energy change
With an aim of addressing the urgent threat of the change in climate, the coca cola
company has adopted and aggressive strategy in the reduction of carbon. The company is
improving its efficiency in energy, shifting to a cleaner energy resources and developing
technologies that are low carbon (Jay). The company is striving to turn the climatic risks

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to new opportunities for sustainable development in business by the use of innovation
and investment.
The firm has embraced the global supervision scheme customary ISO 14001 in
most of its branches. The latter is also audited against the eminence scheme principles for
coca cola on yearly foundation.
The key sustainability to achieving the sustainability goals include: the cold drink
equipment (CDE) and the combined heat and power units that include Romania and
Nigeria together with the widespread connection of the solar pieces in Spain and the
warmth pump at the firm’s inanimate water bottling which is situated in Hungary
(Watters).
The company optimizes the route to market by the use of more effectual automobiles and
in some given countries, the use of rail reduces the emissions that come from the fleets of the
company’s vehicles. The goal of the company is to reach a 25% reduction in carbon in the
overall chain and at least 50% reduction in carbon from the company’s direct operations by the
year 2020 as compared to 2010 (Jay).
Packaging and waste recycling
The coca cola company aims at recycling with a purpose of minimizing the impacts on
the environment that comes from the packaging of the industry’s products in its lifecycle. The
multinational does the latter following three principles: reuse, recover ad reduce. There is an
increased use of non-renewable content and the implementation of light weighting techniques.
Gathering, recovery and the recycling are also primary factors for the reduction of the
environmental impacts (Mowen).

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Sustainability in agriculture
As a result of growth in population, change in climate and issues related to food security,
the suppliers need to make it more secure. It is therefore the responsibility of the company to
have a preventive sustainability strategy to give an enhancement to sustainable agriculture. The
company has also reviewed different external standards for the social and environmental
performances and the latter is aimed at building on the social responsibility ground. Having the
sustainability framework, the company has indulged in a collabo with its suppliers with an aim of
building sustainability in supply chain since the latter is where there is bed rest of socio
economic impacts (Ger and Russell). The company’s suppliers are required to adhere with the
coca cola company principles which have different dimensions including the rights of the
workers, well-being, safety and the environment.

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Work cited
Armus, Seth. "The Coca Cola Company." France and the Americas: culture, politics, and history: a
multidisciplinary encyclopedia (2013): 23-27.
Berbard, Marr. "Forbes: BIG DATA." The Amazing Ways Coca Cola Uses Artificial Intelligence And Big
Data To Drive Success 18th September 2017: 11-22.
Chang, Hui- Ching. Coca Cola Company. Hayward: Calif. State University, , 2014.
Ger, Güliz and w Belk Russell. ""I'd like to buy the world a coke: Consumptionscapes of the “less affluent
world”."." Consumer policy (2014): 269-301.
Glenone, Robert Jerome. Water follies: groundwater pumping and the fate of America's fresh waters.
Island Press, 2014.
Jay, Polosky Michael. "An introduction to green marketing." Global Environment: Problems and Policies.
Bolivia, 2013.
Mowen, John C. "Beyond consumer decision making." Journal of Consumer Marketing (2014): 12-27.
Watters, Patt. Coca-Cola: An Illustrated History. Doubleday Books, 2012.