LOCAL MP VISITS COCA-COLA MANUFACTURING SITE IN EDMONTON AS IT ANNOUNCES £12MILLION INVESTMENT

• Coca-Cola Europacific Partners’ (CCEP) welcomes Kate Osamor MP to its Edmonton factory as it announces a £12million investment into the site this year
• The funding coincides with a milestone 70% reduction in carbon emissions since 2010

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), the largest independent bottler of Coca-Cola globally, has [this week] welcomed Edmonton MP Kate Osamor to its local manufacturing site.

The site, home to a 280-strong workforce and seven production lines, has received an additional £12million investment this year.

The visit provided an opportunity to showcase the plant’s latest sustainability initiatives, which the latest round of funding has enabled and will continue to support over the course of the year ahead. The Edmonton site recently achieved a 70% reduction in its carbon emissions compared to 2010 levels, with the site aiming to reach carbon neutral status in the future, underpinned by CCEP’s sustainability action plan, This is Forward.

The manufacturing site has received a total of £42millionsince 2017, which includes £5.8million in funding for a rear door loading facility, doubling the number of loading bays and increasing overall capacity by 22%.

The site, which has been using 100% renewable electricity for over 10 years, has also recently replaced all material handling equipment (MHE), such as forklift trucks, with new models powered by lithium-ion batteries, which produce no carbon emissions in their day-to-day operations.

Edmonton is supporting CCEP’s sustainability ambitions nationally, and will be the next location to begin producing CCEP’s redesigned bottles with attached caps, following the initial production rollout in Scotland last month. A £3million investment will convert the site’s existing lines, enabling the site to produce bottles that are easier to collect and recycle, as the new design means all caps remain attached to the bottles, reducing the chance for them to be littered.

These ongoing developments have seen the creation of 14 new manufacturing roles this year alone, and the business is currently recruiting for two new apprentices to join the 14 existing health, safety and environment (HSE), engineering and business apprentices. To support this, CCEP has recently undertaken a £500,000 investment in employee wellbeing facilities at Edmonton, including a new kitchen and social spaces, as well as changes to make facilities accessible to all future employees.

Karl Probert, Operations Director at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners in Edmonton, said: “We’re pleased to be able to show Kate Osamor all the work we’ve been doing to make Edmonton an even more sustainable operation and enjoyable place to work for everyone. With over 30 nationalities and 20 different languages spoken, Edmonton is one our most diverse manufacturing locations. The site truly embodies our Everyone’s Welcome philosophy, and we’re proud to be creating an equitable workplace for colleagues from all different backgrounds.”

Stephen Moorhouse, Vice-President and General Manager, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (GB), said: “Edmonton has played a key role in many of the business’ most significant step along its sustainability journey, and continuing to invest in reducing carbon at the site is helping contribute to our commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emission by 30% by 2030[1] across our operations in GB, as well as our overall ambition to reach net zero by 2040. It’s thanks to the hard work of all our colleagues at the site that we’re where we are today, and I look forward to seeing continued positive change.”

Kate Osamor, MP for Edmonton, said: “This significant investment at Edmonton demonstrates CCEP’s ongoing commitment to sustainability, as well as to the surrounding community and local economy. The business has been a key employer in Edmonton for almost five decades, and it’s fantastic to see how it’s evolved in this time, continuing to invest in sustainability and wellbeing every step of the way.”

Case study (for regional media)

Steve Walters, Quality, Environment, Safety and Health (QESH) manager, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners in Edmonton

Steve Walters has worked at Edmonton for over 41 years, having joined the business in 1981 as a microbiologist. Both his son and daughter have also worked at CCEP as a labour planner and a restaurant assistant respectively.

During his time with the business, Steve has gathered a wealth of experience in various different roles across the site, including as a production team lead, before moving into his current remit, Quality, Environment, Safety and Health (QESH), in 1996.

“As the organisation has evolved and changed around me, CCEP offered me opportunities to develop and progress in my career. I felt I was getting a new job every five years, which came with fresh challenges and chances to learn.

“I’ve also had opportunities to work with other talented individuals. Many of those I’ve worked with and taught have gone on to take key roles within the organisation, driving our broader sustainability ambitions, which I’m proud to be a part of. I’ve also had the privilege of learning from others from diverse backgrounds. By looking at things from others’ perspectives, it’s made us a better team, and throughout my time here it’s always been clear that everyone has the site and its colleagues’ best interest at heart. I’m excited to see where we’ll go next.”

[1] Compared with a 2019 baseline