Q1. Tell us about CCI (Coca-Cola İçecek) and its scale/operations in Pakistan in terms of investment, production plants, employment, and operations in Pakistan.
CCI (Coca-Cola İçecek) is a multinational beverage company operating in 11 countries: Türkiye, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Syria. We employ more than 10 thousand people and have 30 bottling and 3 fruit processing plants. CCI produces, distributes, and sells sparkling and still beverages of The Coca-Cola Company and Monster Energy Beverage Corporation along with the production of fruit juice concentrate via its affiliate Anadolu Etap İçecek (Anadolu Etap Penkon Gıda ve İçecek Ürünleri Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi).
CCI entered Pakistan market in 2008 and since has been a key player in our geography. The company has 7 production plants in Pakistan, Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Karachi, Rahim Yar Khan as well as the recently commissioned state-of-the-art production facility in Haripur, KP. CCI Pakistan has a workforce of very talented 2500 employees and proudly serves a consumer base of 230 million.
Q2. What does sustainability mean for CCI Pakistan?
Sustainability is a fundamental and indispensable aspect of our business which spans over a 20-year journey. It is embedded in our vision and has been further strengthened by CCI’s 2030 Sustainability Commitments which include social and environmental goals. Therefore, we integrate key sustainability principles in all our business operations and key decisions we take. Our sustainability goal is to ensure the long-term viability of our business. These goals are driven by our purpose i.e., by our commitment to creating value for our Customers & Consumers, our People and our Communities.
Q3. In recent times, we see a lot of corporates operating in Pakistan shift their focus on ‘sustainable practices’? In your opinion, what and why is there an urgency? what measures have CCI Pakistan taken in this regard?
We operate in a world where we have limited natural resources for a rapidly growing population. Both factors are inversely related, the burden of responsibility falls upon all of us, including corporates, to find innovative ways and best practices to ensure maximum utilization of available resources in an efficient and effective way. Incorporating unsustainable practices in business strategy is no longer an option for any organization aspiring long-term viability of their business. For this reason, CCI, pioneered first of its kind, USD $500 million sustainability linked bond in Türkiye. Issuance of the bond was later followed by the announcement of “Sustainability Commitments for 2030”.
We continuously strive to increase the recycled content in our plastics packaging. Towards the end of 2022, CCI Pakistan has started to produce bottles made from 100% recycled plastic. Initially launched in Sindh, where 2.25-liter Coca-Cola bottles will be made using food-grade recycled plastic (rPET), the initiative will be rolled out in other provinces as well. Working closely with Pakistani provincial food authorities, CCI Pakistan has incorporated a cycle through which used plastic bottles are collected for subjecting into a unit operation. This process ensures cleaning, washing, and breaking them into small pallets. Thus, converting it to Food Grade packaging for CCI Pakistan.
Our 100% collection target for Pakistan goes hand in hand with the r-PET target, because it accelerates circularity. We evaluate potential partnerships to increase the collection rate of our packaging waste, also to feed in the r-PET supply.
As of end of 2022, we are using 0.34 MJ (Megajoules) per liter of product produced and 1.8 L of water per liter of product produced. By the end of next year, we aim for 0,31 MJ (Megajoules) energy use per liter of product produced and 1.75 L of water use per liter of product produced.
In line with our water neutrality principle, the water replenishment program has been kicked off with WWF Pakistan. 460-million-liter water in Lahore and Faisalabad will be replenished in 2023 through rainwater harvesting, installation of recharge wells, installation of ablution water, construction of floating treatment wetlands, on-farm management, tree plantation and land cover management.
In line with carbon-neutral production and absolute CO2 emissions reduction goals, we are evaluating opportunities for renewable energy within our plants and low-carbon practices such as electric forklifts and HFC-Free Coolers equipped with energy saving devices. We have already completed our solar panel investment at our Haripur plant and Multan solar panel installations are in progress.
As of 2022-year end, our female hiring rate is 22.3%. Within the Diversity & Inclusion work stream that we have established, we are developing tailored action plans to reach our women empowerment goals for Pakistan.
Q4. Can you please elaborate on what these commitments are?
“Sustainability Commitments for 2030” are a cornerstone of our sustainability framework. Following an in-depth review of our existing best practices, as well as our future endeavours, we have developed our sustainability roadmap with global targets focusing on six pillars: Packaging, Water, Climate Change, Human Rights, Diversity & Inclusion, Community Development. Under the pillar packaging, we will continue to make 100% of our packaging recyclable and use at least 50% recycled material in our plastic packaging. We will collect and recycle a bottle or can for each one we sell in Türkiye, Pakistan, and Kazakhstan. For other countries we are initiating collection programs as well. Second pillar is water: efficiency and replenishment are our focus. While we increase efficiency by 20%, we aim for water neutrality. CCI will help secure water availability in water-stressed locations through community projects. Third pillar in the environmental front is climate change. We’ll run our manufacturing sites on 100% renewable electricity and make them carbon neutral. Also reducing total absolute GHG emissions by 13% and emissions per liter of product by 50% while growing the business is yet another global CCI commitment.
On the social front, we will establish mechanisms to ensure that CCI’s distributors and priority suppliers are %100 compliant with CCI Human Rights Policy. On diversity and inclusion, we will work to ensure that 35% of new hires, 40% of managerial positions and 50% of executive committee members are women.
Lastly, on community development programs, we are focusing on 3Ws: Women, Water & Waste. We have committed to increasing our unique beneficiary base by a million and reaching 3.5 million people until 2030 with community development programs.
Q5. You have set high targets, especially when it comes to the environment and climate change. What’s the key to achieving these targets?
The targets we set ourselves in each commitment were strategically determined on need-based urgency after a detailed evaluation across CCI’s operating geographies. Therefore, we stand fully committed to our goal.
We have incorporated and made the sustainability agenda a focal component of our business strategy where we set granular targets for each function/department at CCI Pakistan. Through this approach, all employees of CCI take equal ownership and responsibility for our sustainability agenda.
Q6. Pakistan is one of the high-risk countries regarding climate change and its impact on water resources. What initiatives has CCI Pakistan undertaken to address this concern?
Water is not only a critical resource for mankind, but it is also the fundamental ingredient of our business. This gives us a great responsibility to secure water resources both for the communities we operate in and for the sustainability of our business as well. We deal with water issues in Pakistan on three fronts: efficiency, replenishment, and providing access to clean water.
With regards to efficiency, we aim to use few natural resources through operational excellence projects. CCI Pakistan is adopting measures to reduce its water usage ratio to 1.43 by 2030.
In terms of replenishment, in collaboration with World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), CCI Pakistan and Coca-Cola Foundation have initiated a water replenishment project in Lahore. The interventions will be done through direct and indirect water conservation methods, including recharge wells, wetlands, and ablution water reuse.
Access to clean drinking water remains a critical challenge in Pakistan, affecting the health and well-being of its population. Despite concerted efforts, a significant portion of the community continues to face inadequate access to safe water sources. Recent statistics indicate that approximately 21 million people in the country lack access to clean drinking water, while around 35 million do not have proper sanitation facilities.
These conditions have an adverse impact on marginalized communities which results in increased health disparities and waterborne diseases. The issue persists due to factors such as water contamination, inefficient infrastructure, and the effects of climate change, which take a toll on Pakistan’s water resources.
To address this pressing concern CCI Pakistan is investing in and exploring various avenues, such as its flagship clean drinking water project, “PAANI”. Under the project, several water filtration plants (PAANI plants) have been established, each of which, has the capacity to provide 2000 liters of clean water per hour. As of now, a total of 35 PAANI plants have been successfully installed across the country. The plants make a significant impact by catering to the needs of over 1.1 million beneficiaries daily.
CCI Pakistan is also collaborating with the Pakistan Horticulture Authority (PHA) to utilize treated wastewater for irrigation purposes.
