Food

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People are feeling the effects of global warming in the Philippines and other parts of the world due to variations in water, such as floods, droughts, and rising ocean temperatures. These alterations have a negative impact on rural communities and pose difficulties for the production of food.

The Coca-Cola Company, which is present in more than 200 nations and territories, is aware of its obligation to save regional water supplies and assist those who reside in areas where there is a shortage of water. Coca-Cola prioritizes the areas around its manufacturing facilities, the cities where its goods are marketed, and the rural farms where it procures and cultivates its components.

The corporation also funds programs to purify and recycle water when it may be used to make beverages using less water. Restoring the amount of water needed to manufacture its products to communities and nature is the aim. The company also prioritizes sophisticated water management procedures and the preservation of biodiversity and the natural world.

Through improved irrigation efficiency and decreased water contamination, water stewardship initiatives run by the Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines (CCFPI) are helping farmers in the Philippines secure water for their crops.

Watershed projects supported by the CCFPI promote nature-based solutions, such as reforestation, wetland and meadow restoration, invasive species removal, and check dam construction. These projects highlight the importance of sustainable food production systems and resilient agricultural practices, as they aim to boost farmers’ productivity and empower communities to build resilience against climate change. 
 

Moreover, local water programs and partnerships supported by the CCFPI have empowered hundreds of communities to access clean water by facilitating the development and installation of ramp pump technology in remote areas, addressing the persistent challenge of limited electricity and water access in households. Watch a video highlighting these efforts here: 
 

Coca-Cola Water Stewardship

All these efforts align with The Coca-Cola Company’s 2030 Water Security Strategy, which focuses on:  

• Operations: Striving to achieve 100% circular water use across 175 facilities identified as leadership locations.  
• Watershed: Partnering with like-minded organizations to enhance the health of 60 critical watersheds.  
• Communities: Aiming to return a cumulative total of 2 trillion liters of water to nature and communities globally between 2021 and 2030.  

Follow Coca-Cola Philippines on social media at @CocaColaPhilippines on Facebook and @cocacolaph on X (previously Twitter) and Instagram, or go to www.coca-cola.com.ph for additional information on the company’s sustainability activities.

Reimagine Recycling, a project by Coca-Cola Philippines and Save Philippine Seas that strives to scale developing circular economy projects, is once more looking to assist trash solutions through project financing and capacity-building opportunities. The project is now in its fifth year. The search this year will concentrate on initiatives that promote circular economies, assist underprivileged communities, and stop garbage from leaking into riverine and marine habitats.

Up to 10 finalists will be chosen from the pool of applicants to attend the Reimagine Recycling Summit in January 2024. They will have the chance to network with previous winners, take part in seminars, and present their ideas in front of a group of specialists and experts during the summit. The Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines may provide funds for selected projects to support their execution of up to Php 500,000.00.

“Coca-Cola Philippines is proud to continue working with Save Philippine Seas to promote marine conservation. We recognize the importance of our oceans in life. Through Reimagine Recycling, we are helping support a circular economy for our packaging – including uplifting informal livelihoods, and working to reduce marine pollution in our rivers and oceans,” said Tony del Rosario, President of Coca-Cola Philippines and Vice President for Coca-Cola Franchise Operations in the East Region (Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Philippines).

The program is part of Coca-Cola’s continuous efforts to achieve a World Without Waste through partnerships with organizations. In 2018, The Coca-Cola Company pledged to collect and recycle an equivalent of every bottle and can it sells by 2030; make its packaging recyclable globally by 2025, and use at least 50% recycled materials in its bottles by 2030. The company has also opened a state-of-the-art bottle-to-bottle recycling facility in General Trias, Cavite in 2021.

“At Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines, we believe in the power of collective action and the ability to make a difference. That is why we are excited to support the 5^th year of Reimagine Recycling! We continue to seek new innovations from groups who share our vision of caring for our communities and supporting our informal waste sector,” said Cecile Alcantara, Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines President.

“Reimagine Recycling has enabled past winners to make new connections, grow their projects, and support the collection of over 195,000 kilograms of waste. The ingenuity of Filipinos is inspiring,” said Anna Oposa, Executive Director of Save Philippine Seas.

Applications must be submitted by November 20, 2023. For any questions or concerns, please email Ms. Mo Maguyon, Reimagine Recycling Project Manager, at [email protected].

Eligibility

Applicants should have an established and ongoing project that addresses issues in coastal community engagement, improving the welfare of informal waste pickers, gender mainstreaming in waste management, and preventing waste from river and marine ecosystems. The project must be at least six (6) months old by November 2023. The initiative must be a community-based project. Priority will be given to projects that work at the barangay level and collect and recycle hard plastics.

Two to three representatives from each project’s organization, association, or group are required to submit applications. Applicants may be affiliated with academic institutions, civil society organizations, or private businesses (including start-ups and social entrepreneurs).

Examples of initiatives

Supporting informal livelihoods

●        Capacity-building opportunities

●        Implementing models of cooperative organizing and community governance

●        Improving facilities for workers to safely process collections

Developing circular systems

●        Providing access to recycling markets and solutions

●        Improving local infrastructure for waste collection, recovery, recycling and disposal facilities

●        Developing roadmaps and strategies for solid waste management and/or circular economy

Visit www.savephilippineseas.org/reimagine-recycling for additional details. Applications must be submitted by November 20, 2023 (11:59 PM GMT+8). Please read the FAQs at  www.savephilippineseas.org/faq-reimagine-recycling if you have any questions or concerns, or send an email to [email protected].    

In its Asia’s Outstanding Poll 2023, one of Asia’s top financial publications, Asiamoney, chose Universal Robina Corp. (URC) as the Philippines’ most outstanding company in the consumer staples sector for the third consecutive year.

After conducting a thorough poll of the top capital movers and financial experts in the area, Asiamoney presented the prize to URC, one of the major food manufacturers in the Philippines.

URC president and CEO Irwin Lee said clinching the award three times in a row “serves as a validation of the quality of our product, and a testament to the unyielding trust and confidence that our valued customers have in us”.

“It is also a recognition of the remarkable dedication shown by our workforce, and a reaffirmation of the overall excellence that defines our company,” he added.

Asiamoney is a top source of news, commentaries and data services for international capital markets.

The  2023 Asia’s Outstanding Company Poll  covered over 1,225 fund managers, analysts, bankers and ratings agencies. In total, 7,653 votes were received for publicly listed companies across 13 markets in Asia.

The results recognized 194 companies as being the most outstanding in their respective sectors and markets.

The poll was designed to acknowledge listed firms that have excelled in areas such as financial performance, management team excellence, investor relations and corporate social responsibility.

Lee thanked the diverse group of fund managers, analysts, bankers, and ratings agencies who participated in the voting. 

“We are also grateful to all our stakeholders – employees, suppliers, customers, and consumers – whose unwavering support and dedication have been instrumental in our resilience during the recent challenging years,” he added.

Lee said the latest award reinforces URC’s commitment to becoming the “foremost sustainable food and beverage enterprise from the Philippines, that delight consumers around the world with good food choices”.

The legendary products produced by URC, which have long been a part of Filipino culture, include Great Taste, C2 Cool & Clean, Piattos, Maxx sweets, and Cream-O cookies. URC, one of the biggest food and beverage producers in the nation, has a substantial and expanding presence in ASEAN. A few of its top regional brands are Fun-O, Tivoli, and Lexus.

For the third consecutive year, Universal Robina Corp. (URC) has been recognized the Philippines’ most outstanding firm in the consumer staples sector by Asiamoney, one of the region’s top financial periodicals. Popular food and beverage brands like Cream-O cookies, which are widely distributed in the area, are produced by URC.

On September 16, as part of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), Coca-Cola Philippines, Plastic Bank Philippines, and the Lighthouse Legacy Foundation organized more than 200 volunteers to collect trash and marine garbage at Julugan Fish Terminal in Tanza, Cavite.

To address the issue of coastal waste in the area, workers from the Coca-Cola Philippines system joined forces with waste collection volunteers from its Ecosystem Impact Program with Plastic Bank Philippines, ICC Philippines, Lighthouse Legacy Foundation, the Local Government of Tanza, the Philippine Coast Guard Cavite Chapter, and Don Bosco School of Theology. Together, they collected more than 1,000 kg of waste.

The “World Without Waste” strategy of Coca-Cola Philippines was launched in 2018, well before the country’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Law was passed, according to Zed Avecilla, president of the Lighthouse Legacy Foundation, who praised the company for its long-standing dedication to responsible waste management.

Avecilla also emphasized the impact of raising awareness on the importance of managing waste to prevent them from getting into Philippine waters- through events like ICC. “What we are achieving through these events is the creation of awareness on responsible waste management and educating Filipinos about the EPR Law. In a way, we are appealing to their emotions to help the environment,” he said.

The ICC is renowned as the world’s largest volunteer effort for ocean sanitation, with The Coca-Cola Company serving as a founding member of the Trash Free Seas Alliance since 1995. In partnership with its local bottling partners, the company is engaging employees, consumers, and communities in cleanups, providing resources, grants, and in-kind donations to help remove trash from beaches and waterways.

In the Philippines, Coca-Cola is doing its part to prevent marine debris through community-based initiatives like the Ecosystem Impact Program with Plastic Bank. This initiative helps build collection and recycling systems in communities to prevent plastic bottles from ending up in places where they should not be, while at the same time, empowering workers in the solid waste management sector.

Dhang Tecson, Global Director for Country Operations of Plastic Bank, thanked Coca-Cola Philippines for its annual coastal cleanup activity as well as the company’s invaluable contribution to advancing the circular economy of plastics in the Philippines. “Maganda ‘yung ginagawa ng Coca-Cola kasi hindi lang sa ating mga bahay nasisimulan ‘yung action, kundi pati sa ating komunidad (What Coca-Cola is doing is great because change doesn’t just start in our homes but also in our community),” Tecson said.

Coca-Cola bottles can have many lives

Coca-Cola Philippines President Tony del Rosario emphasized that coastal cleanup activity is part of the company’s wider commitment to help tackle plastic waste. “No one wants to see empty packaging end up where it doesn’t belong. Our World Without Waste program is an ambitious global sustainable packaging strategy that aims to help drive a circular economy for our packaging in the Philippines. Together with our partners, we are making progress with still much more to do,” he said. 

The Coca-Cola Company’s World Without Waste global sustainable packaging strategy aims to collect the equivalent of every can and bottle it sells by 2030, make 100% of its packaging globally recyclable by 2025, use at least 50% recycled plastic in its packaging by 2030, and unite people to support a clean, healthy environment.

In keeping with this, Coca-Cola Philippines has announced new bottles for Coca-Cola Original (190ml and 390ml) and Wilkins Pure (500ml), in addition to Sprite 500ml introduced in 2019. These bottles are produced entirely from recycled PET plastic (rPET). The business also introduced “May Ikabobote Pa” a consumer interaction program designed to inform people about the recycling options available to them. To make it simpler for customers to return their empty bottles, Coca-Cola Philippines is currently extending its network of more than 2,800 recycling drop-off locations around the nation.