Stories

Delivering Results for People and Nature

WWF and The Coca-Cola Company are working together to conserve and protect freshwater around the world

In This Story:
- Transforming Business

Since 2007, WWF and The Coca-Cola Company have worked together to conserve and protect fresh water around the world as rising populations and climate change put increased pressure on this resource. Together we have:

improved water efficiency and reduced climate emissions within Coca-Cola’s manufacturing operations
advanced sustainable agriculture in the company’s supply chain
helped conserve priority river basins around the world

Learn more about the power of our collaboration.

Our goal: Conserve seven of the world’s most important freshwater basins

Poorly planned development, deforestation, agricultural expansion, overfishing and climate change all threaten the world’s water supply. WWF and The Coca-Cola Company have worked to conserve some of the most important freshwater basins in the world.
Restoring Wetlands in the Mekong

Along the Mekong River, we’ve reformed wetland management policy and restored habitat in Tram Chim National Park in Vietnam – one of the last natural wetlands of the once vast Plain of Reeds ecosystem. Our efforts have restored habitats for fish and bird species, and improved livelihoods for nearby communities that depend on the park’s resources.
Helping Communities Thrive in the Yangtze

We have worked with villages in the upper Yangtze to integrate sustainable river management practices with pollution control measures. Together, we have constructed artificial wetlands and installed biogas digesters that have provided clean water, a source of gas for cooking and heating, and helped communities grow organic vegetables that can be sold in the marketplace.
Reconnecting Wetlands in the Danube

We are restoring and reconnecting wetlands along the Danube for the benefit of people and nature, such as Gornje Podunavlje in Serbia, where we’ve improved habitats and supported conservation efforts for species like white-tailed eagles. Our efforts will conserve biodiversity, improve water quality and restore natural flood protection across the Danube region.
Helping Establish the Lake Niassa Reserve

Working together with local communities, we helped to establish Lake Niassa as an official reserve and Ramsar site in 2011. Niassa is one of the most unique, and as yet unspoiled, freshwater ecosystems on the planet – home to more than 1,000 species of fish, like cichlids, and the world’s only surviving freshwater corals.
Helping Communities Manage Storm Water in Mexico

Along the Rio Grande we trained residents of ejidos – community-shared lands – in soil conservation and habitat restoration, resulting in 136 check rock dams built to slow water flow during high rain events, mitigate flooding damage, and prevent erosion.
Promoting Sustainable Agriculture in the Mesoamerican Reef

In Guatemala, we worked with local communities to reverse unsustainable agriculture practices and halt the expansion of the agricultural frontier farther into the basin. Community-based organizations are now producing crops such as coffee, cardamom and honey using sustainable growing methods that increase income for the families while reducing erosion and runoff draining into the Mesoamerican Reef.
Restoring the Cahaba River’s Flow

In the Southeast U.S. Rivers and Streams, WWF and The Coca-Cola Company partnered with Alabama state authorities and local communities to remove dams on Cahaba river, making it the longest free-flowing river in Alabama and ensuring a more stable and free-flowing habitat for the river’s wildlife and aquatic species.
Goal: Improve water efficiency 20% within Coca-Cola’s global operations by 2012

In addition to freshwater conservation, the partnership worked to improve water use in Coca-Cola’s global manufacturing operations.
Maximizing Water Efficiency in Coca-Cola’s Operations

Despite an expanding product portfolio and increased production levels, Coca-Cola improved water efficiency by 20 percent by the end of 2011. Significantly, these results apply not only to The Coca-Cola Company, but also to nearly 300 independently owned and operated bottling companies known as the Coca-Cola system.
Reduce Coca-Cola’s global carbon emissions

Recognizing the significant threat that climate change poses to our freshwater systems, the partnership is focused on reducing carbon dioxide emissions in Coca-Cola’s bottling plants.
Growing the business and not the carbon

Together, WWF and Coca-Cola developed an Energy Efficiency Toolkit to identify energy-saving opportunities in the company's operations. As a result of these efforts, in 2011, emissions levels from the company’s operations in developed countries were 9 percent below 2004 baseline emissions, ahead of the 2015 planned goal of 5 percent. Coca-Cola’s global commitment will prevent the release of more than two million tons of CO2 in 2015 —the equivalent of planting 600,000 acres of trees.
Goal: Promote sustainable agriculture

Agriculture uses 70 percent of the world’s water supply, so sustainable management of crop production is fundamental to protecting freshwater resources. Together, we have worked to promote sustainable agriculture throughout the supply chains of The Coca-Cola Company and its bottling partners. We are focusing our efforts primarily on sugarcane, oranges and corn – three water intense crops.
Advancing sustainable sugarcane cultivation

Together, WWF and Coca-Cola have piloted projects on sustainable sugarcane cultivation in Australia, Brazil, South Africa, and Honduras, working with sugarcane farmers to align their practices with the Bonsucro Standard. In June 2011, a sugar mill in São Paulo, Brazil, became the first to be certified under Bonsucro, and the Coca-Cola system was the first buyer of the mill’s certified sugar. Since then, 16 sugarcane mills have been certified in Brazil.
Goal: Inspire a global movement to conserve water

We believe that our partnership can help redefine the way corporations and nonprofit organizations work together to find effective, sustainable solutions to environmental challenges. We hope our collaboration will inspire a larger global movement of freshwater conservation.
Collaborating for conservation

WWF and Coca-Cola are working together in more than 40 countries around the world on projects that range from conservation and biodiversity protection to education and awareness. As one example, in Cambodia and Laos, WWF and Coca-Cola are collaborating with governments and local communities to conserve the Irrawaddy dolphin – a critically endangered freshwater dolphin.