In line with Coca-Cola’s global commitment of “Building sustainable communities as foundations for sustainable businesses”, Coca-Cola in Bangladesh has launched the Sustainability Highlights Report 2020.
This report is the company’s maiden sustainability performance disclosure, highlighting the impact the company has created in the community along with the key sustainability initiatives across the value chain, according to a press release.
Ta Duy Tung, managing director of Coca-Cola Bangladesh said: “Our purpose has always been to refresh the world and make a difference. Our sustainability goals are in line with United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs]. We are delighted to be a part of the country’s journey of success through such projects and being able to make a difference in the community. It’s an honour for us to share our progress with everyone.”
The Coca-Cola System in Bangladesh, with its two bottling partners- International Beverages Private Limited (IBPL) and Abdul Monem Limited (AML), has worked on several sustainability projects in the last year including Covid-19 Response, women empowerment, world without waste efforts, water initiatives &sustainable agricultural water management among other projects.
Regarding the system initiatives, Tapas Kumar Mondal, managing director of International Beverages Private Limited said: “The first-ever Sustainability Highlights report for the Coca-Cola system in Bangladesh is a major step of our Sustainability journey and an update of the system’s commitment to our country and stakeholders. Our ESG priorities are supportive of a ‘Clean and Green Bangladesh’ and through our initiatives, we pledge our support to climate resilience that will help Bangladesh achieve its SDGs.”
Key Highlights fromThe Report:
Covid-19 Response: With support from The Coca-Cola Foundation (TCCF) Atlanta, the company pledged Tk11.5 crores towards Covid-19 relief measures.
This resulted in positively impacting 50 lakh lives in Bangladesh, with the key targets being the vulnerable and marginalized communities
Women Empowerment: Women Business Centers [WBC], is Coca-Cola Bangladesh’s flagship program in Bangladesh where the goal is to empower women financially, having empowered 100,000 women in the country by 2020.
Around 100,000 women are directly being empowered with another 400,000 being impacted indirectly.
Water Initiatives: Coca-Cola Bangladesh teamed up with Water Aid on WASH initiatives which resulted in hygiene campaigns, sanitation and handwashing facilities for school students in the high salinity area.
The Coca-Cola Foundation teamed up with Water Resources Group [WRG] to jointly develop the IWET project with the specific overarching goal of “IntroducingWater-Efficient Technologies” in Barind Tract working with 10,000 farmers to shift to high value, low water-intensive crops- particularly rice and mango.
World Without Waste: For the last 10 years, as part of a global commitment to creating a “World Without Waste”, Coca-Cola in Bangladesh has been the proud partner of International Coastal Cleanup. Through this partnership, more than 4500 people have volunteered and collected over 12000 kilograms of marine debris in the last decade.
ASM Mohiuddin Monem, additional managing director, Abdul Monem Limited said: “Our sustainability efforts continue to focus on the areas of waste management, water stewardship, women empowerment and efficient and sustainable operations. Water being an important resource for our business, we focus on initiatives such as water replenishment& restoration projects in multiple locations such as Brahmanbaria and Chottogram. It gives immense pleasure to see the impact we have created and continue to create for our country and our stakeholders and reinforces our commitment to doing business in the right way”
Our business has always been driven by our environmental, social and governance (ESG) priorities.
Our focus on ESG initiatives is relevant now, more than ever, and we will continue working with our partners and our communities to focus on our purpose and respond proactively to challenges and opportunities.