Sustainability Reporting Winner: Coca Cola Enterprises

Through its latest Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability report, Coca Cola Enterprises (CCE) is taking broader accountability outside its own operations and is working across its value chain as it seeks to grow a low-carbon, zero-waste business.


In May 2012, CCE released its seventh company-wide CRS report, entitled “How can a drink build a more sustainable tomorrow?”

Built on extensive stakeholder feedback, the plan defines the company’s new sustainability vision, commitments and more challenging targets and demonstrates how CCE is delivering against its thirty seven targets in each of its seven CSR focus areas, which are Energy and Climate Change, Sustainable Packaging and Recycling, Water Stewardship, Product Portfolio, Active Healthy Living, Community and Workplace.

In particular, it focuses on the two areas in which CCE intends to lead the industry, Energy and Climate Change and Sustainable Packaging and Recycling, and addresses how the company plans to innovate for the future.

Emphasising the importance of stakeholder engagement and collaboration, the report includes a range of questions posed to CCE by stakeholders in 2011 and shows how the company has approached them.

“As we move forward on our CSR journey, we realise that we don’t have all the answers. Innovation and collaboration with our stakeholders is key, particularly in the context of the macroeconomic and societal challenges we continue to face. In partnership with our stakeholders, we seek to continue developing CSR solutions that benefit our company, our industry and society at large,” said John Brock, chairman and CEO.

Most will know that Coca-Cola Enterprises is the leading Western European marketer, distributor, and producer of bottle and can non-alcoholic drinks and one of the world’s largest independent Coca-Cola bottlers. It is also the sole licensed operator for products of The Coca-Cola Company in Belgium, continental France, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

And as one of the world’s most recognised brands, CCE’s CSR report is aligned with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), self-assessed at level B+, and also serves as the corporations Communication on Progress (COP) for the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), while the Water Stewardship chapter serves as its COP-Water, as part of the company’s endorsement of the UNGC CEO Water Mandate.

With such a strong global status, CCE has ensured that its latest report highlights some of its achievements which include becoming the first soft drinks company to receive the Carbon Trust Standard Award, receiving the best-ever score out of 675 companies.

CCE has established three strategic priorities, around which the report is structured – ‘Deliver for Today’,’Lead the Industry’ and ‘Innovate for the Future’.

The report also covers the personal commitment of the chairman and CEO, John Brock, and the President of the European Group, Hubert Patricot, to CSR and the way that the company has embedded CSR into its governance structure. Built around the question “How can a drink build a sustainable tomorrow?” the report itself aims to answer this question, taking the reader through how CCE believes this is possible, and digging deeper into other questions posed by stakeholders to CCE over 2011.

According to CCE, this gives it a unique balance of openness and honesty while at the same time allowing the organisation to discuss the progress made towards its sustainability vision.

Other key elements of the report which help to bring the story to life include the employee spotlights and the design. The ‘Deliver/Inspire’ spotlights showcase CCE employees discussing what they do on a daily basis to ‘deliver for today’ and ‘inspire for tomorrow’.

Recognised for its commitment to sustainable reporting, the CCE was recently invited to join the EU Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change to demonstrate the support of business for the European Union to move to a low-carbon society.

JUDGES’ COMMENTS:
CCE’s Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report 2011/12 identified their stakeholder groups, and gives a good outline with a mix of graphics and text. It’s very clear, shows reporting against commitments and it’s the best of the bunch

FINALISTS:
Aster
Cemex
IMS Consulting
Premier Farnell
Vodafone

More information about the Sustainability Leaders Awards is available here.

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THE WINNERS:

Energy Efficiency: Sainsbury’s

Waste Management: Food & Drink: Sainsbury’s

Sustainability Reporting: Coca Cola Enterprises

Renewable Energy: Northumbrian Water Group

Best Environmental Consultancy: Arup

Sustainability Practitioner: Kirsten Henson, KLH Sustainability

Water Management: ABP Food Group

Sustainable Transport: London 2012

Sustainable Building: P+HS Architects

Carbon Management: The Co-operative Group

Stakeholder Engagement: Sony Europe

Waste & Resource Management: Nextek

Sustainability Communications: The Co-operative Group

IEMA Graduate Award: Lorna Philbin

Sustainability Leader: Dale Vince, Ecotricity

 


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Entry to the 2013 Sustainability Leaders Awards will open at the beginning of March 2013. Bookmark our awards site to be kept in the loop.

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