Part of me was wondering how I could be so incredibly flattered and lucky to be asked by the University of Toronto (U of T) to run a segment of the Olympic Torch Relay in a spot sponsored by Coca-Cola. Perhaps U of T was aware of Coca-Cola’s commitment to sustainability and the environment and thought that my involvement with Sustainability Development Technology Canada’s (SDTC) Investment Committee was a good fit. SDTC has a $1.05 billion budget for sustainability projects in Canada, a significant portion of the fund is earmarked for water projects. An excerpt from Coca-Cola’s email to me clearly talks about the importance they place on water stewardship. I’m wondering if Coca-Cola is aware that they can lever moneys invested in water technologies when co-invested in water technology consortium projects approved by SDTC. Perhaps I can suggest a consortium by making the Coca-Cola people aware that U of T is ranked #1 in the world for environmental research publications and that U of T Engineering ranks top ten in the world with particularly strong expertise in water.
An excerpt from Coca-Cola Torchbearer correspondence:
Coca-Cola Canada’s commitment to environmental sustainability started well before the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and extends far beyond it. We demonstrate environmental leadership in all aspects of our business and our commitments are focused where we have the most opportunity to make a difference—energy management and climate protection, sustainable packaging/recycling, and water stewardship.
Energy Conservation/Climate Change
We are working to grow our business while reducing carbon emissions in our manufacturing, fleet, sales and marketing equipment, and facilities.
• We will be carbon neutral in our Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games effort. We will do this by implementing leading edge technologies to reduce emissions, followed by Gold Standard carbon offsets. We have introduced new technology to North America—all of the coolers used at the Olympic Games will be HFC-free and with improved energy efficiency by up to 35 percent.
• Coca-Cola in Canada has achieved “Climate Savers status”—a WWF designation recognizing companies who are committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.
• With our Protect the Polar Bear campaigns we aim to inspire Canadians to take action against climate change. We start off the campaign by donating $200,000 to WWF-Canada.
Sustainable Packaging / Recycling
We are working to maximize our use of renewable, reusable, and recyclable resources, ultimately recycling the equivalent of 100% of our packaging.
• Our consumer packages are 100 percent recyclable. We spend millions supporting recycling programs in every province across Canada.
• We are taking steps to recycle 100% of all bottles used in the Athlete Villages and Olympic Winter Games venues. All Coca-Cola staff supporting the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay and the Olympic Winter Games will be wearing clothing made out of recycled plastic (PET) bottles.
• All Dasani and sparkling bottles at the Olympic Winter Games will be “PlantBottles™”. “PlantBottle™” is made with up to 30% renewable, plant-based material and is 100 percent recyclable.
Water Stewardship
We are working to establish a water sustainable operation in which we use one litre of water for every litre of product we produce—what we call water neutrality.
We have a $1 million partnership with WWF-Canada to conserve freshwater resources in Canada and fight climate change.
