Translations

COCA COLA integrates water savings in its manufacturing processes

4. Environment

Biodiversity and sustainable resource management

Sector Food-processing

Year 2008

Country France

Transmitter

Context

Fresh water consumption has been multiplied by 7 since the beginning of the XXth century. Around 20% of this increase is related to the industry sector; according to the UNO, water used for industrial purposes will twofold by 2025, and the progress of indutrialisation in developing countries plays a role in that. This being the case, as water is vital to the production and industrial process of the drinks, Coca Cola Enterprises is determined to use water in a responsible way.

Objectives

- Preserving water and reducing water consumption while keeping improving industrial processes.

APPROACH

Water follows a specific course and it can be thus re-used, to make the better use of it. First, water is treated before being used, to meet quality demands. Packagings, boxes, plastic or glass bottles are thus washed and rinsed. It also cleans the tanks for drink preparation and blending, every time there is a different flavour. Pipes are then cleaned and conveyors are lubricated. The collected waste water is treated and discharged in the natural environment.

The Grigny-located plant has a vegetable tank working on phytoprocessing. In other words, plants are used as treatment agents for waste water (reed retains organic matters, and iris filters through phosphorus and nitrogen). It reduces the use of chemicals, and energy consumption.Coca-Cola Enterprises carried out a detailed survey and set the water saving objectives to fulfil on each manufacturing site, and identified what can be done to improve water usage ratio.

CONTRIBUTION TO COMPANY PERFORMANCE

- Coca-Cola Enterprises spends less and less money to buy water and the required products to treat it.

- Thanks to phytoprocessing, Coca-Cola makes savings on material inputs and on the number of persons it employs, as the treatment is now carried out by the plants.

Benefits

- Coca-Cola Enterprises has been saving around 250 million litres of water since 2005 (continuous production), as it has reduced the volume required for the production.

- It now needs 1,46L of water to manufacture 1L of drink, whereas 1,54L were required 3 years ago, and 2L were required 10 years ago.