Coca Cola receives first certifications for water stewardship

The European Water Stewardship (EWS) has handed over its first certifications, which take into account water quality, quantity and governance aspects, to Coca Cola.


The EWS, an initiative of Brussels-based NGO European Water Partnership, officially handed over its first two ‘Gold level’ certifications to Coca-Cola Enterprises operational plants in Dongen, The Netherlands, and to Coca-Cola Hellenic in Ploiesti, Romania.

Responding to the objectives of the European Water Framework Directive, the EWS system helps industry and agriculture to improve, maintain and communicate sustainable water and ecosystem management.

European Water Stewardship (EWS) director, Sabine von Wirén-Lehr, said: “The EWS standard requires companies to move beyond mere water accountancy and helps to actively respond to local water challenges. Communicating these efforts to stakeholders allows organizations to reinforce relationships with partners and customers and reassure them of responsible governance and water management.”

In a joint statement the EWS said that the beverage sector is a leader in the field of water conservation and resource management and “this is true given not only the unequivocal nature of water to the final product but also the enormous potential to influence sustainability issues amongst the public and its consumers”.

EWS stressed that Coca Cola had shown real on site initiative in demonstrating its commitment to water challenges by being the first to go for EWS certification.

The certification process performed a targeted on-site performance evaluation of both Coca-Cola bottling plants, identifying improvement and mitigation actions.

Director for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability at Coca-Cola Enterprises, Joe Franses, told edie: “At Coca-Cola Enterprises, we have a clear sustainability plan with ambitious targets which we are working towards every day.

“Our water commitment to ‘set the standard for water efficiency, to establish a water sustainable operation and to minimise water impacts throughout our value chain’ is brought to life by the Coca-Cola Enterprises Dongen plant”.

“Receiving the first ever European Water Stewardship Standard GOLD Certification is a great milestone and strong recognition that we doing the right things to minimise the water impact of our business operations,” he added.

Leigh Stringer

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