The Coca-Cola Company has revealed that it returned 1.75 billion litres of water to nature and communities across the MENA region in 2017. This achievement represents a critical contribution to the company’s global goal to replenish 100 per cent of the water it uses by 2020 – as the MENA region is the most water-stressed region in the world, said a statement from the company.

 

Coca Cola’s Replenish goal, a first for the beverage-producing private sector, seeks to replenish – or return through water access, productive use and conservation activities – 100 per cent of the water used by the firms in its global sales volume by 2020. To achieve this, Coca-Cola System entities support community-based water projects around the world, with a specific focus on water stressed regions and those locations experiencing or recovering from humanitarian crises, it said.

 

These projects vary in design and scale, but all operate to provide people with access to sustainable water and sanitation services, provide water for productive use such as irrigation, or protect environments and natural water sources from degradation and depletion.

 

To date, Coca-Cola and its philanthropic Foundations have implemented over 25 replenishment projects throughout the MENA region, including key projects in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Morocco and Pakistan.

 

Building on this impact, Coca-Cola plans to launch new projects in Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Pakistan, Algeria, Morocco in 2018 and will expand its replenish work to reach Sudan for the first time, bolstering drought and humanitarian response efforts, said a statement.