SOFT DRINKS AND SUSTAINABILITY

I find it fascinating to see just how far the soft drinks industry has progressed in the past few years on a host of corporate social responsibility measures. Last week I was looking through the latest report from Coca-Cola on its activities in Great Britain and here is a selection of indicators that might have seemed unachievable until very recently:

• 1.29 litres of water used to make 1 litre of drink in 2014
• 34% recycled content in PET bottles
• 43% of cola and 39% of all drinks sold as lower or no calorie.

There was also a useful reminder of where the company’s carbon footprint comes from:

• 50% packaging
• 18% ingredients
• 18% refrigeration
• 8% manufacturing
• 6% distribution.