2018 Sustainability Stakeholder Report

Coca-Cola European Partners (ticker symbol: CCEP) today launched its 2018 Sustainability Stakeholder Report, outlining key achievements in the company’s sustainability journey in 2018.

The report provides an update on the progress Coca-Cola European Partners has made on This is Forward, its joint sustainability action plan with The Coca-Cola Company in Western Europe which launched in 2017.

This is Forward sets out three action areas on drinks, packaging and society, and three supporting actions on water, climate and supply chain – with ambitious and measurable targets to be met by 2025.

The Sustainability Stakeholder Report shows that CCEP has:

• Continued to ensure that its packaging is sustainable. In 2018, 98% of its packaging was recyclable, and 27.6% of the PET used in its bottles was from recycled PET.
  
  
• Reduced the amount of sugar in its drinks by 15.8% since 2010 – 160K tonnes of sugar have been removed from CCEP’s drinks since 2010 and 45% of the products it sold in 2018 were low or no calorie.
  
  
• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions across its core business by 50.64% and emissions across its value chain by 29.7% per litre, since 2010. CCEP also purchased 100% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2018.
  
  
• Reduced its overall water use by 11.25% since 2010 and replenished 141% of the water it used where sourced from areas of water stress in 2018.

To mark the first anniversary of This is Forward in November 2018, CCEP launched a new volunteering policy that enables all employees to dedicate up to two paid working days a year to volunteer for a charity or cause of their choice.

The company also announced a new strategic investment to purchase 100% recycled PET from Loop Industries to accelerate the increased use of recycled materials in its bottles and a partnership with TerraCycle and Carrefour to trial new circular shopping system and reuse model, Loop – marking key milestones in its progress on packaging sustainability.

The release of the Sustainability Stakeholder Report follows the recent publication of CCEP’s 2018 Integrated Report, which shared progress on the business’s sustainability commitments alongside its annual financial performance for the first time.

Reflecting on the progress made in 2018, Damian Gammell, CEO of Coca Cola European Partners, said:

“We want to be a force for good, for people and the planet. It’s therefore crucial that sustainability underpins every part of how we do business.

“This is Forward, our sustainability action plan, guides us as we make progress in the areas where we know we have a significant impact, and which our employees and stakeholders care most about.

“I’m proud of the progress we’re making on our sustainability commitments, particularly the fact that we’ve achieved three of our targets two years ahead of schedule. These include: reducing the sugar in our soft drinks by over 15% since 2010, purchasing 100% renewable electricity, and cutting our greenhouse gas emissions in half.

“However, we know that there is still much more we can do - and we certainly can’t do this alone. We are continuing to listen to and work with our stakeholders to make tangible changes which help build a better future for our business, for people and for the planet.”

The Sustainability Stakeholder Report is available online only on CCEP’s website.