Sol Daurella and Damian Gammell reflect on the past year at CCEP, and look to the future

Sol: The way we have continued to demonstrate the resilience of our business, and our ability to operate with agility in such a rapidly changing environment. I am proud of how our colleagues continue to support our customers, consumers and communities.

It’s also been exciting to see the development of our new company, following the acquisition of Coc-Cola Amatil last year. We are growing together by combining the talent, learning and best practices of two fantastic companies, both with a strong shared sustainability focus. A more diverse and inclusive culture will translate into new thinking and new ideas and our people will have even more opportunity to grow and develop.

Damian: 2021 was an extraordinary year for CCEP. We are a stronger more diverse business, built on great people, great service and great beverages – done sustainably. Our performance this year has solidified our full year 2021 position as the largest fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) value creator.

We also continued to make progress on our ambition to reach net zero emissions by 2040 and invest in making our packaging more sustainable. We continue to challenge our commitments, bringing them forward where possible as evidenced by us achieving our 50% rPET commitment in Europe two years early.

Sol: We continue to value and invest in our early career talent and support initiatives that help young people gain employability, skills and confidence. This includes offering internships, apprenticeships and graduate programmes. We have also launched three new Inclusion, Diversity & Equity (ID&E) learning modules on practising inclusive leadership, starting an ID&E conversation and allyship. We’ve been working hard to create a workplace where everyone feels welcome to contribute and be at their best.

Damian: We encourage an environment where different perspectives and insights are valued at all levels of the organisation, and we have put inclusion right at the heart of our working culture. We have a focus on agile ways of working and creating an ownership mindset where people feel empowered and confident to take appropriate risks and win together.

Sol: The physical, mental and social wellbeing of our colleagues remains our priority and we continue to promote this in our workplace. Amid the stress and disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s more important than ever that we look after our people’s wellbeing and mental health. We have grown our Wellbeing First Aider initiative to build an internal support network for mental health.

Damian: We aspire for all employees to feel happy, healthy and to work with integrity and respect, enabling us all to thrive at work and in our home lives.

Sol: Digital technology and innovation have always been a key focus for CCEP, we are continually looking for ways to improve our service and making it even easier to do business with us.

Damian: Over the past two years we’ve seen significant behavioural shifts in society. Changes in how people live, shop and work continue to inform how we serve our customers and get our products to consumers. This gives us an opportunity to leverage our digital capabilities and grow our business, as well as creating even more value for our customers and retail partners.

We are evolving into an ever increasingly data driven organisation as we effectively and consistently utilise data in our decision making process across all levels of the organisation.

And through our innovation investment programme – CCEP Ventures – we aim to identify and implement transformative ways of doing business. Business to business (B2B) e-commerce is just one exciting growth area that is a focus for us.

Damian: We have set ambitious targets to reduce GHG emissions and reach net zero by 2040, and are accelerating the decarbonisation of our business. Our targets are aligned with a 1.5˚C pathway and are approved by the SBTi. This means that we have a credible goal that will require meaningful and sustained action. This year we will update our 2030 science-based emission reduction target to include API.

Sol: Sustainability is absolutely fundamental to everything we do as a business. Our continued listing on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) this year reinforces the ongoing progress we are making. CCEP was recognised for leadership in corporate sustainability by global environmental non-profit CDP for the sixth consecutive year, securing a place on its prestigious ‘A List’ for climate, as well as water security.

We are working closely with our colleagues, customers, partners, suppliers and stakeholders us to take the action required to tackle climate change. We still have a long way to go and we are determined to work together to achieve our sustainability ambitions.

You can read more about the progress we have made here.

Damian: We continue to protect our business for the short-term and will continue to invest in levers for long-term future growth, particularly in our portfolio, our people, digital and sustainability.

 I would like to thank our people for their extraordinary efforts during the year and our customers, suppliers and all of our stakeholders for their interest and partnership.

We are also deeply concerned and saddened by the conflict and suffering in Ukraine. CCEP has joined the Coca-Cola system in providing support to the humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine and neighbouring countries. We are contributing financial aid to the International Federation of the Red Cross and local Red Cross branches, and product donations to refugee centres.

We join others across the world in calling for peace to return to Ukraine.

Sol: We will continue to invest in our people and developing an inclusive and safe environment for people to be at their best. Above all, we are acutely aware of the challenges facing society and we are committed to building a better future – for our business, for people and for the planet. We are making a difference and believe we have the right foundation to drive sustainable growth.

We remain focused on the next stage of our journey and I’d like to thank all our stakeholders and investors for continuing to be a part of it.

The full interview with Sol Daurella and Damian Gammell can be read in the Integrated Report.