Coca Cola Enterprises Releases Report on Water Conservation Efforts

- Coca-Cola Enterprises announced today that the company improved water efficiencies, increased internal recycling rates and reduced its reported carbon footprint in 2009. The progress is detailed in the company's fifth company-wide Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CRS) Report, Clear on Our Commitments: Our Journey to 2020. The report provides a comprehensive look at the company's progress towards "Commitment 2020," the set of goals CCE announced last year in each of its five strategic CRS focus areas -- Energy Conservation/Climate Change, Water Stewardship, Sustainable Packaging/Recycling, Product Portfolio/Balanced and Active Lifestyle, and Diverse and Inclusive Culture.

"Last year, we set ambitious goals that we are committed to achieving by the year 2020," said John F. Brock, chairman and chief executive officer. "This report demonstrates the steady progress we are making on our journey as we strive to become a sustainability leader in the Coca-Cola system and across the beverage industry."

CCE calculated its global operational carbon footprint at 5.4 million metric tons, a reduction of 11.5 percent from its previously reported 2007 footprint. While the company acknowledges that a proportion of this reduction is the result of refined data gathering processes, it shows that its considerable investment in energy-efficient technology is paying dividends. CCE has implemented a wide range of environmentally-friendly technologies in its production plants, fleet, and sales and marketing equipment, as well as invested in renewable energy such as solar panels and fuel cells. Through internal recycling initiatives, the company achieved an average of 92 and 99 percent waste recycling rates at its North American and European facilities, respectively. CCE also reduced its water use ratio to 1.67 liters of water used to make one liter of product using water-saving technologies and monitoring and targeting systems, which is an improvement of more than 3.5 percent from 2008.