Coca-Cola Europacific Partners' (CCEP) manufacturing site in Dongen in the Netherlands has been awarded a platinum certification for sustainable water stewardship by the global Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS).
The recognition is the first AWS certification for any site in the Netherlands, CCEP added.
AWS is a global membership collaboration that recognises good water stewardship performance and the platinum certificate is its highest level of recognition.
Sustainable Water Use
Water usage at the site has been optimised in several ways over a number of years, including the launch of a collaboration with local partners to coordinate communal uses for water, as well as an adaptation to the factory’s line that washes used bottles with reused, clean water.
Joe Franses, VP of sustainability at CCEP, said, "Water is an essential resource across our value chain, and we need to treat it with the care it deserves. Good water stewardship is a key part of our sustainability strategy so we’re delighted that the important work that has been taking place in Dongen has been recognised by AWS.
"We are aiming to make all our production facilities as water efficient as possible, by reducing our water consumption on a continual basis and protecting local water sources for future generations."
Action On Water
As part of its Action on Water strategy, CCEP has adopted a value chain approach to water management.
All of its production facilities in Europe have implemented water management plans to support CCEP’s ambition to address water scarcity challenges and conserving water resources.
Since 2010, there has been a 13.7% reduction in the amount of water used to make one litre of product at CCEP sites, and 275% of the water used in drinks manufacturing, where sourced from areas of water stress, was replenished.
The site in Dongen is one of the six sites in a CCEP programme that aims to achieve carbon neutral certification according to the international standard PAS 2060 by the end of 2023.
To reduce emissions at the site, all onsite transport vehicles (forklift trucks and road sweepers) will switch to electricity, gas powered boilers will be replaced by electric heating systems and the site’s 100% renewable energy will be supplied by local solar and wind farms.
This programme is a key part of CCEP’s Net Zero 2040 ambition and seeks to reduce its value chain emissions by 30% by 2030 (versus 2019). It focuses on reducing its own value chain emissions before investing in verified carbon offset projects, prioritising those that remove carbon from the atmosphere to take eliminate emissions.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Conor Farrelly. For more A-Brands news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
