Coca-Cola Extends Partnerships with WWF and UNDP to Advance Water Sustainability Projects in Pacific Region

USD 4 Million in Additional Funding Dedicated to New Initiatives for China

SHANGHAI, -The Coca-Cola Company will donate USD 4 million through its Coca-Cola Foundation to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Water Stewardship Program in China and the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) Yangtze Partnership, announced Geoff Walsh, Director, Pacific Group Public Affairs & Communications.

These donations form part of the Company’s long-standing commitment to water stewardship. Since 2007, initiatives across Asia Pacific have followed a three-pronged approach to water sustainability that can be summarized as “Reduce, Recycle and Replenish”. Coca-Cola’s 2020 goal is to safely return to nature and communities an amount of water equivalent to what is used in all of its beverages and their production. As part of that goal, Coca-Cola will improve water use efficiency by 20 percent by 2012, while also continuing to expand its support of watershed protection and sustainable community water programs in the Pacific region.

Mr. Walsh stated that USD 2 million of this commitment would be provided to support the UNDP Water Stewardship Program in China, which helps manage water resource efficiency and drinking water safety in China. The Program was initiated in 2007 as a unique public-private partnership between Coca-Cola, the Chinese Government’s Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Commerce and UNDP. The partnership aims to improve the livelihoods of rural farmers and residents, as well as provide safe drinking water to local communities and improve water resource management. Including this latest donation, Coca-Cola has provided over USD 3.5 million to the partnership’s programs thus far.

“The UNDP Water Stewardship Program has been establishing pilot sites and improving the quality and quantity of drinking water in underserved rural areas across China since 2007, and Coca-Cola is delighted to be able to continue to support the organization in this important work,” said Mr. Walsh. “The money donated will sustain the initiative’s operations until 2013, ensuring that the UNDP can continue to raise awareness of important issues including water re-use, sustainable agriculture, and water policy advocacy.”

Silvia Morimoto, Deputy Country Director, UNDP China, added, “We are thrilled that The Coca-Cola Company remains stalwart in its support of the UNDP Water Stewardship Program, which has accomplished a great deal towards developing best practices for communities across the country. With this second donation, we will be able to push through with further plans, including the Guangxi Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative, which will help residents of Guangxi province develop new sustainable sugarcane cultivation practices in the aftermath of recent natural disasters that cut off established water supplies. The program will open access to safe drinking water while providing communities with a system to sustainably maintain their livelihoods going forward.”

Mr. Walsh also unveiled a further USD 2 million commitment towards Coca-Cola’s efforts as part of the ongoing WWF and Coca-Cola Yangtze Partnership. Originally set up in 2007, the Yangtze Partnership has become a transformational NGO-business partnership that has improved the health of key water source areas in the Yangtze River basin and, subsequently, the living standards of surrounding communities. Coca-Cola’s donation will extend the Partnership until 2013, while focusing on river/wetland restoration, as well as improving the agricultural use of water and anti-pollution measures. Including this latest donation, Coca-Cola has provided over USD 4.5 million to the WWF Yangtze Partnership in China since 2007.

Mr. Walsh added, “The Yangtze Partnership has also advocated wetland conservation in 18 provinces through its Wetland Ambassador Action (WAA), a public awareness program launched across China. The WAA initiative has reached an estimated 330,000 people directly and another 3.8 million indirectly, promoting better conservation of water and wetland ecosystems since 2007. Coca-Cola is proud to say that with this added donation, the Partnership will be able to continue its important work by replenishing an estimated 1 billion liters of water per year. Through to 2013, 7 million people are expected to benefit from the WWF water resource conservation project.”

“The ongoing support of Coca-Cola has been invaluable to all of our important accomplishments in the project region since 2007 and this added donation will allow us to continue our work towards enhancing freshwater supply. Our next initiative will focus on protecting and restoring freshwater ecosystems, which will promote an ecological approach to river restoration and waste water treatment across key freshwater habitats in the upper Yangtze,” said Dr. Zhu Chunquan, Conservation Director of Biodiversity and Operations, WWF China.

Mr. Walsh concluded, “With over 320 formalized partnerships with civic and government organizations, The Coca-Cola Company today helps protect and conserve water resources in some 86 countries. This is an issue that is integrated with our business worldwide and is a hallmark of our LIVE POSITIVELY system-wide sustainability framework. LIVE POSITIVELY is created on the foundation of our commitment to making a positive difference in the world, and it is embedded within our entire business at every level. The LIVE POSITIVELY framework consists of seven core areas key to our business sustainability: Beverage Benefits; Active Healthy Living; Community; Energy Efficiency and Climate Protection; Sustainable Packaging; Water Stewardship; and Workplace. With these objectives in mind, we will continue leveraging our core competence to address difficult issues in the Pacific region and worldwide, and create enduring, relevant solutions.”


*Coca-Cola Water Sustainability Programs in Asia-Pacific

The Coca-Cola Company has a long standing commitment to water conservation initiatives globally and across the Asia Pacific region, and many are aimed at young people with an eye on creating a better environment for future generations.

With an estimated two thirds of the global population under severe water stress, The Coca-Cola Company is responding to the looming crisis with concrete and achievable goals. We are committed to helping communities conserve and manage water in a way that builds sustainable communities and ecosystems.

To achieve this, we have devised a three-pronged approach that is made of three primary pillars: Reduce, Recycle, and Replenish. Our water stewardship efforts aim to improve water use efficiency by 20 percent by 2012, require us to safely return to nature and communities an amount of water equivalent to what is used in all its beverages and their production by 2020, and expand support of watersheds and sustainable community water programs. From 2004 to 2009, our total unit case volume grew 23 percent, during which time the Company has improved the water use efficiency by 13 per cent.

Since 2005, Coca-Cola has engaged in more than 320 Community Water Partnership projects in some 86 countries, focusing on watershed protection; expanding community drinking water and sanitation access; water for productive use; and education and awareness programs.

*Partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

The Coca-Cola Company has partnered with the World Wildlife Fund on many water projects globally and in the Pacific region. In 2007, the Company pledged USD 20 million to lead its global beverage operations in reducing the water used in producing beverages, recycling water used in the manufacturing processes, and replenishing water in communities and nature. The multi-year commitment helps conserve seven of the world’s most important freshwater river basins.

The hugely successful program was extended in 2008 by two years with an additional USD 3.75 million in funding. In Asia, Coca-Cola works with the WWF and local governments and community partners on two iconic river basins conservation projects - the Yangtze in China and the Mekong which runs through Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand.

*Yangtze Partnership in China

As part of the environmental conservation program “Green Olympics” for the Beijing Olympic Games and The Coca-Cola Company’s global efforts to adopt more sustainable business practices, Coca-Cola China began working with the Environmental Office of the Beijing Olympic Committee in 2005 to formulate the “Save a Barrel of Water” initiative.

The ambitious program was designed to encourage young people and their families to get involved in water conservation on a daily basis, to support the Chinese government’s call for better environmental conservation and to encourage students to water plants using recycled or saved fresh water.

By the end of 2010, the initiative had been launched in 24 cities across China, reaching 1.2 million people. It is estimated that 500,000 tons of water were saved through the program over a six year period.

*Water Resources Management and Drinking Water Safety in Rural Regions of China

A partnership with United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the government of China (Ministry of Water Resources and Ministry of Commerce) was established in 2007, focusing on water resources management and drinking water safety in rural areas. By 2010, the four partners had jointly provided USD 6.8 million to help more than 100,000 residents benefit from safe drinking water and sanitation facilities in Xinjiang, Sichuan, Heilongjiang and Liaoning.

The project supports Beijing’s aim to provide safe drinking water to local communities and improve water resource management. The overarching goal is to develop a best practices model that can be applied in communities across the country, strengthening their capabilities in water resource management.

On 17 February 2011, Coca-Cola China and its three partners extended their cooperation and launched the Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The first phase of the Project is scheduled to complete in 2011, and is expected to replenish at least 500 million liters of water annually to local communities, and directly benefit more than 100,000 rural sugarcane farmers.

*RAKNAM (Love Water) in Thailand
The Coca-Cola Company along with the WWF Thailand, the Thai Red Cross Society and several Thailand state agencies helped initiate RAKNAM (Love Water), an integrated program focused on driving public awareness, education and action on sustainable water resource management that has reached over 500,000 people across Thailand every year.

The program covers four core areas: plant performance, watershed protection, community water initiatives, and inspiring awareness and action.

*LIVE POSITIVELY Water Badge in Singapore
On the eve of World Water Day 2010, Coca-Cola Singapore, the Singapore Scout Association and the PUB, Singapore’s national water agency, launched the “LIVE POSITIVELY Water Badge”, another educational scheme aiming to reduce the water consumption of 3,000 Singapore families by 5 percent over three months.

*Setu Community Water Project in Indonesia
The Coca-Cola Foundation Indonesia and Yayasan IBEKA joined hands in 2007 to promote awareness of water preservation in the rapidly growing peri-urban community of Jabotabek. The project has directly benefitted 500 people living in Kertarahayu Village.

*Clean Water for Communities in Malaysia
Coca-Cola Malaysia worked with Raleigh International and the Malaysian State Government of Sabah in 2006 to support government efforts to improve living conditions in rural communities by providing equipment to facilitate a sustainable supply of clean water. The initiative brought a clean and sustainable supply of water to 12,000 villagers in Sabah, East Malaysia at the end of September 2010.

*Water Vision Program in Malaysia
In partnership with the Malaysian Nature Society, Coca-Cola Malaysia joined Malaysian government efforts in 2006 to create awareness of the importance of water source protection, while promoting a sense of responsibility and active participation among young people. The program has educated 300,000 students on the environment in more than 300 schools across the country.

*Clean Water for Communities in Vietnam
In 2008, Coca-Cola expanded its Clean Water for Communities program in Vietnman by cooperating with Vietnam’s Duyen Thai Commune to help provide sanitation and hygiene facilities as well as water tanks and a piping system. The cooperation has improved the lives of 1,600 students at Duyen Thai Commune, Ha Tay, none of whom previously had access to clean water.

In 2009, the program welcomed new partners including NGOs East Meets West and the Research Center for Family Health and Community Development (commonly known as CEFACOM), broadening its reach to bring a sustainable supply of clean water to water-scarce communities across the country.

*Landcare Australia Partnership in Australia
The Coca-Cola Australia Foundation, in partnership with Coca-Cola Amatil and Landcare Australia, launched in 2006 a unique alliance to bolster water quality projects in communities across Australia, targeting the Wetland and Murwillumbar Northern Rivers. The program aims to protect and regenerate land around water sources, particularly in areas with scarce water systems.

About 40 Coca-Cola system volunteers planted over 1,600 native trees at Horsley Park on October 24, 2008 as part of the Company’s commitment to Australia’s environment.

About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, the world’s most valuable brand, the Company’s portfolio features 15 billion dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Minute Maid Pulpy and Georgia. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, juices and juice drinks and ready-to-drink teas and coffees. Through the world’s largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company’s beverages at a rate of 1.7 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. For more information about our Company, please visit our website at www.thecoca-colacompany.com.