{"id":4091,"date":"2009-01-27T16:12:09","date_gmt":"2009-01-27T22:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=4091"},"modified":"2009-01-27T16:12:09","modified_gmt":"2009-01-27T22:12:09","slug":"coca-cola-to-receive-top-sustainable-development-award-by-world-environment-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/coca-cola-to-receive-top-sustainable-development-award-by-world-environment-center\/","title":{"rendered":"Coca-Cola to Receive Top Sustainable Development Award from World Environment Center"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>Next time you pop open a coke or drink a VitaminWater, sip on this.\u00a0 The 2009 World Environment Center’s (WEC) Gold Medal for International Corporate Achievement in Sustainable Development<\/a> will be awarded to the Coca-Cola Company.\u00a0 The award recognizes the beverage giant for achievements in water stewardship, packaging, climate change, and energy management<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Coca-Cola’s Signature Contribution<\/a> is in the area of water stewardship.\u00a0 The company’s goal is to restore to the environment all water that is used to produce of its products.\u00a0 It aims to achieve this through reducing the amount of water in the manufacturing process, recycling water back into natural systems, and locally relevant conservation projects<\/a>.\u00a0 With a new report predicting global water shortages by 2020<\/a>, increased attention to water and natural systems seems increasingly imperative.\u00a0 (Hopefully Coca-Cola includes the water needed to grow and process the sugar<\/a> in its calculations – approximately 200 L of water per can in Europe.)<\/p>\n Coca-Cola recently announced a $400,000 award to Michigan State University to create a new Center for Packaging Innovation and Sustainability<\/a>.\u00a0 The center will allow “unprecedented” collaboration between industry and academics as both work towards innovative, more environmentally sound packaging alternatives.\u00a0 Coca-Cola also partnered with TerraCycle<\/a> to transform reclaimed billboards, misprinted labels and cans, and old glass bottles<\/a> into new products for sale.<\/p>\n There is no question that the achievements celebrated by the WEC represent positive steps forward.\u00a0 Coca-Cola’s greening of its delivery fleet<\/a> also deserves some kudos.\u00a0 However, some have questioned the company’s practices in places like India<\/a>, citing a worsening water situation and local pollution.\u00a0 Additionally, the company uses high fructose corn syrup to sweeten its U.S.-sold beverages<\/a>, leading to a whole host of other sustainability (and health<\/a>) issues.<\/p>\n It’s nice to see steps forward, and perhaps someday soon – even in the beverage industry – we’ll be able to see the forst for the trees.<\/p>\n Image Credit:<\/strong> The Rocketeer at Flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Next time you pop open a coke or drink a VitaminWater, sip on this.\u00a0 The 2009 World Environment Center’s (WEC) Gold Medal for International Corporate Achievement in Sustainable Development will [ … ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":4092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,21,13],"tags":[2460,2461,1103,104],"yoast_head":"\nWatching out for Water<\/h3>\n
Perfecting the Package<\/h3>\n
Is it Really Eco-Coke?<\/h3>\n