Coca-Cola Water Project Restores One Billion Liters

14 Sep 2016 --- A Coca-Cola and US Department of Agriculture partnership has restored one billion liters of water and promises to double that amount by 2018.

The US Forest Service has teamed up with the soft drinks giant to restore and protect damaged watersheds on national forests, and has now achieved the one billion liter milestone. The 13 restoration areas are located on national forest land which provides drinking water for more than 60 million US residents. The project will ensure they have access to fresh water for generations to come.

"This milestone that Coca-Cola, USDA and our partners have reached is just the latest example of how partnerships between the public and private sectors can reach more people, harness more innovation, and do more good than either government or businesses can achieve alone," said US agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack.

"America's 193 million acres of public forests and grasslands supply the drinking water for 60 million Americans, support approximately 200,000 full and part time jobs and contribute over US$13 billion to local communities each year. This partnership is based on shared goals of ensuring healthy watersheds and public engagement that serves those local communities, and will continue to deliver on that commitment for years to come,” he added.

Community organizations are included in this public-private partnership involving dozens of local communities and hundreds of volunteers working together on water resource management education and stewardship activities. 

One example of a public-private approach is the Carson National Forest in northern New Mexico where local partners help restore an alpine meadow and enhanced a natural wetland habitat. By slowing the flow of Placer Creek, a tributary of the Rio Grande, the local team helped to restore a biodiverse meadow habitat and replenish the groundwater that contributes to the City of Santa Fe, New Mexico's water supply. The meadow restoration project is expected to replenish approximately 49 million liters of water per year.

"A thriving watershed is critical to every community we serve and to our business. Coca-Cola is on a journey and plans to continue to replenish 100 percent of the water we use in our beverages and their production and return it to nature and communities. We could not accomplish the milestone we celebrate without the expertise, guidance and resources of the USDA, the U.S. Forest Service, the National Forest Foundation and many other organizations and community partners. In the coming years, we will continue to work together to build scale and expand these projects and partnerships,” says Coca-Cola North America president, Sandy Douglas. 

Coca-Cola has contributed more than US$2 million to the National Forest Foundation (NFF), a Congressionally chartered foundation, to support USDA Forest Service water restoration projects. 

A few weeks ago FoodIngredientsFirst reported how Coca-Cola had reached its 2020 water replenishment goal five years ahead of schedule, making it the first fortune 500 company to restore all the water it uses globally.