Coca-Cola, WWF Extend Partnership to Deliver on Water Stewardship and Climate Action Targets

Coca-Cola and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have renewed their global partnership for three ‘years, effective August 2021.

The work will span all nine of Coca-Cola’s operating units and over 50 of the approximately 100 countries where WWF’s network operates.

The partnership will also build collective action by catalysing the investment of other stakeholders around the world, with the goal of engaging over 200 organizations.

Collaborative activities will consist of developing and implementing a global road map to help deliver on Coca-Cola’s strategies and goals, including its 2030 Water Security Strategy, 2030 World Without Waste goals and 2030 science-based climate target, while catalysing collective investment through connections with other partners, working groups and governments to achieve conservation outcomes.

These successful conservation projects will help inspire peers and new leaders to replicate, build upon and scale ongoing work.

For more than a decade, Coca-Cola and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have partnered to help ensure healthy, thriving freshwater basins around the world.

This water stewardship work began in 11 freshwater basins and expanded to programs in 50 countries, including Nigeria.

The groundbreaking partnership, which has become a best practice for corporate and non-profit collaborations, has driven collective action with governments, local communities and other businesses to ensure these basins are protected into the future.

The partnership work extends beyond water to improving environmental performance across Coca-Cola’s supply chain, including reducing emissions and helping the company reimagine how agricultural ingredients are sourced and plastic packaging is recycled. Together, the partners are also helping vulnerable communities build resilience to climate change and water stresses.

Speaking on the renewal, Nwamaka Onyemelukwe, director, Public Affairs, Communications, and Sustainability, Coca-Cola Nigeria, said: “We are delighted to continue what has been an immensely fruitful partnership with WWF.

“Water stewardship has long been a key pillar for Coca-Cola and through this partnership, we have been able to achieve key targets in the past.

“With the current climate and water access situation in Nigeria and across the world, this renewal could not have been timelier.

“We take responsibility for people and the environment within which we operate and with this partnership, we will be scaling up efforts to help these vulnerable communities build resilience to these key stress areas”.

Bea Perez, senior vice president and chief communications, Sustainability and Strategic Partnerships Officer, The Coca-Cola Company, added: “Our partnership with WWF has made meaningful progress in addressing complex issues and challenges in our world, focused primarily on water in our communities.

“I’ve had the opportunity to travel to river basins where we work and see the positive outcomes of this journey for local communities and our business. There is more to be done.

“We believe true change can be achieved with additional partners, support and investment to drive lasting positive changes for our planet.

“WWF works with the private sector to reduce footprints and reach scale in tackling the problems of water scarcity, climate change and loss of nature.

“The past 14 years of our work with The Coca-Cola Company has spanned over 50 countries. We’re proud of the results we’ve achieved”, said Carter Roberts, President and CEO of World Wildlife Fund.

“Since the dual crises of climate change and nature loss loom larger than ever, we’re raising ambition in the next phase of our partnership—to build resilient communities and ecosystems that can meet the challenges ahead. There’s no time to waste”.

The partnership, now extended until 2024, is believed to drive investments in nature that are successful today and are resilient to climate change tomorrow, with the aim to yield conservation and business returns into the future.