WATER STEWARDSHIP

A rainwater catchment pond in Indonesia

Water is a priority for The Coca‑Cola Company because it is essential to life, our beverages and the communities we serve.

Water is also critical to public health, food security, biodiversity and the climate crisis. The world is experiencing increased water scarcity, with demands for safe, usable water exceeding supply in certain areas.

We have operations nearly everywhere in the world - in more than 200 countries and territories. That means we have a responsibility to accelerate our efforts to help address water stress, protect local water resources and help build community climate resilience - communities' ability to adapt to these changing conditions.

Key Goals of our 2030 Water Security Strategy

Our 2030 Water Security Strategy is focused on accelerating the actions needed to increase water security where we operate, source ingredients and touch people's lives.

A women cupping clean water with her hands

Topo Chico Plant Provides Free Water to its Monterrey Neighbors

For more than a century, Topo Chico has offered drinking water to the local community via a free, 24/7 tap outside its Monterrey plant. It’s one of many ways the Coca‑Cola system in Mexico is providing sustainable water access to those in need.

A man walks by Topo Chico wall art in Monterrey Mexico

Community Programs to Support Access to Water & Sanitation

Together with The Coca‑Cola Foundation, our partners and co-funders, we helped support millions of people gain access to water, sanitation and hygiene and recovery during crises and natural disasters.

Clean water is used to wash hands at a Coca-Cola hand-washing station

Water Replenishment

We have replenished more than 100% of the water used in our finished beverages every year since 2015.

 

Rainwater is harvested in Pakistan to be used for washing hands

Timeline

Began reporting water efficiency progress as a global system.

Partnered with The Global Environment & Technology Foundation on the company’s global water management program and water resource strategy.

Started the Water Development Alliance, a collaboration between The Coca‑Cola Company, The Coca‑Cola Foundation and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), to address challenges and harness opportunities connected to water.

Partnered with Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor.

Announced Replenish, the initiative to return the equivalent amount of water used in our finished beverages to nature and communities by 2020.

Became one of the first six companies to join the United Nations Global Compact CEO Water Mandate, a unique public-private initiative that assists companies in the development, implementation and disclosure of water sustainability policies and practices.

Partnered with World Wildlife Fund to help conserve freshwater resources and create a more water-secure future.

Initiated the Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN), a partnership with Global Environment & Technology Foundation.

Set goal to improve water efficiency in manufacturing operations by 25 percent compared with a 2010 baseline.

Partnered with Water for People to provide safe water access in Rwanda.

Launched the award-winning Support My School initiative with UN-Habitat and other critical partners to help improve basic amenities and generate monetary resources for better learning environments for students in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.

Became a founding member of the 2030 Water Resources Group to help improve water policy in several countries around the world.

Announced a $3.5 million commitment with The Coca‑Cola Africa Foundation to the U.S. Water Partnership to advance sustainable water access in African countries facing the greatest clean water challenges.

Signed the WASH Sustainability Charter, which promotes best practices for sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene.

Announced the partnership between The Coca‑Cola Africa Foundation and WaterAid to make safe drinking water a reality for communities in Burkina Faso and Ethiopia.

FEMSA Foundation partnered with Coca‑Cola Latin America and Millennium Water Alliance to create Lazos de Agua to benefit 110,000 people in five Latin American countries.

As part of the Latin America Water Funds Partnership, Coca‑Cola Latin America and its local bottlers invested nearly $7.4 million to replenish 6.9 million cubic meters of water in watersheds across seven countries in the region through water fund activities.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and The Coca‑Cola Foundation launched New World to improve water supply and sanitation, promote responsible water resource management and empower women and young people through more than 40 projects supporting communities in 19 countries.

Achieved the goal to replenish 100% of the water used in our finished beverages back to communities and nature five years early.

Signed a joint statement issued by our partners World Wildlife Fund and WaterAid on access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and freshwater ecosystem conservation. The statement supports a dedicated WASH goal within the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals framework, calling for a holistic action that recognizes the interdependencies of WASH and freshwater ecosystems.

One Drop Foundation, the Inter-American Development Bank, The Coca‑Cola Foundation and FEMSA Foundation announced a collective $25 million investment in Lazos de Agua, an initiative to provide 200,000 people with access to more safe and affordable water and improved sanitation and hygiene services in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia and Paraguay by 2021.

USAID, The Coca‑Cola Company and Water and Development Alliance collaborated with research firm Ipsos to conduct the Ripple Effect Study, which assessed how improved access to water and sanitation enables women’s empowerment and promotes gender equality.

The Coca‑Cola Foundation’s RAIN initiative reaches 6 million people in Africa with improved WASH.


Additional Water Stewardship Resources