Africa: Coca-Cola to invest $5 billion in sustainable development

Coca-Cola, in cooperation with its African bottling partner,s has announced the investment of  an additional $5 billion in long-term sustainable development projects by the end of the decade, Bloomberg reports.

With this new round of investment, which will reach $ 17 billion in total by 2020, the world’s largest beverage company is said to be aiming to tackle a number of social and environmental problems. The company and its bottling partners said that the new investment would also be channelled into Coca-Cola’s cooling and distribution equipment and production, increasing employment in its supply chain, as well as supporting programs for safe water access, sustainable sourcing and the economic empowerment of women.

Chief Executive Officer Muhtar Kent said: "As an organisation that has been part of the economic and social fabric of Africa since 1928, we and our local bottling partners have seen, firsthand, the great promise and potential of this dynamic, growing and vibrant continent.Even as we see tremendous growth potential in Africa, we know that the strength and sustainability of our business are tied directly to the strength and sustainability of the African communities we proudly serve”.

The company said that it had also signed a letter of intent to launch Source Africa in partnership with the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition and Grow Africa. The initiative is aimed at securing more consistent and sustainable local ingredient sourcing for its products and will initially focus on sustainable mango and tea production in Kenya, citrus, mango and pineapple production in Nigeria, and mangoes in Malawi. However it said that the programme could expand to focus on sustainable ingredient production in Ethiopia, Senegal, Tanzania and Mozambique.

Source: Bloomberg / FoodBev