Coca‑Cola HBC is leading the way in sustainability for the beverage industry, after achieving the highest sustainability ranking in the world and in Europe for the fourth year running.
This remarkable achievement – a first for the beverage industry – has just been announced in the 2017 rankings of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices – a leading global benchmark for sustainability in business.
Following a robust sustainability performance in 2016, particularly in the areas of labour practices, strategy for emerging markets, health and nutrition, and across the environmental dimension, we achieved a total score of 90, which is 38 points higher than the industry average.
Our performance was so strong in 2016 that Coca‑Cola HBC is now not only sustainability leader in the beverage industry, but has also taken the lead across the DSJI’s Food, Beverage and Tobacco Group as a whole.
This is the first time we have received this even greater industry recognition for sustainability leadership.
Dimitris Lois, our CEO, says: “Being named a Global beverage leader in Dow Jones Sustainability Indices is an amazing achievement. Far more important, the overall progress we have made reflects our determination to build in the sustainability principles in everything we do, always pushing the bar higher while sharing the value we create with our communities. We are very proud! Keep walking!”
Commenting on our performance in the latest sustainability index rankings, DSJI said in a statement: “Coca‑Cola HBC is committed to sustainable development to create long term value for business and society. With admirable targets to reduce water and energy consumption while scaling up packaging recycling, the company has an ambitious sustainability strategy, and with such a large business, every step matters.”
Inspiring a better future
In 2016 we achieved a 6% decrease in carbon emissions, which means our emissions are 36% lower now than they were in 2010. We also further reduced the amount of water we use for producing a litre of beverage – down by 3% (-16% since 2010) – as well as the amount of energy used to manufacture our products – down 5% in 2016 (-23.5% since 2010). The equivalent of 37% of packaging we placed into the market was recovered for recycling.
Committed to contributing to a better world, we invested €7.3 million – 1.6% of our pre-tax profit – in numerous initiatives to improve community wellbeing, focusing on environmental and water stewardship and youth development, in partnership with more than 294 NGOs.
While working on minimising our environmental impact during the year, we introduced ambitious Sustainability commitments that reflect our determination to grow our business responsibly, profitably and sustainably. This includes working together with our partners to develop a sustainable value chain and improving the communities where we operate, on three continents.
Key 2016 performance highlights
- 31,083 employees
- 35,000 suppliers and €3.1 billion suppliers spend
- €281 million total taxes paid
- 6% reduction in direct carbon emissions year-on-year
- Waste per litre of beverage produced declined by 33% year-on-year
- 88% sustainable employee engagement score
Dow Jones Sustainability Indices ranking
Introduced in 1999, the DJSI is the most widely recognised benchmark for corporate sustainability. Companies are judged against strict economic, environmental and social criteria, with a strong focus on long-term shareholder value. The rigorous, rules-based methodology reveals the sustainability leaders in world business, with 2,500 companies assessed across 59 industries in 26 countries.
