Coke will reduce the amount of water that goes into making its drinks. Last year, its bottlers used 290 billion liters of water in beverage production–leading one plant in southern India to wear out its welcome when the government accused Coke of drying up the water supply.
More than half of the water Coke used in 2006 was used in manufacturing processes– rinsing, cleaning, heating and cooling–rather than going into the drinks. Five years ago, making one liter of Coke took 3.14 liters, while now it only takes about 2.54 liters. The company is also putting effort into long-term conservation and plans to spend $20 million to protect seven major watersheds around the world in a World Wildlife Fund joint project.
Also addressing the long-term water shortage threat is rival Pepsi. The company’s Gatorade brand has begun rinsing with highly compressed air instead of water, reducing its water usage by about 20 percent. Its Tropicana unit also reuses water from washing oranges to wash equipment.
Photo by CocaCola.
FranchiseBrief.com on June 7th, 2007 at 9:16 am
That’s funny what you can do to reduce costs…. A few years ago, Coke saved millions of dollars by making its cans 1/4 of a gramme lighter!
Joan on June 7th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
When I was younger, I always got the pepsi, coke, or orange soda. When, I got older I still grabbed a soda drink…or “pop” as we called it when I grew up. Then, as I got older, I only grab one when I crave one, which is only about once a month or less. I guess I am growing out of soda pop.
Yes, we all need to pitch in to help the environment. .. as clean water, air, and products in general are essential and crucial to our planet and our lives. http://www.iseepure.com
James on June 7th, 2007 at 11:56 pm
The useages of water in making Coke that are listed here are different than the use that NPR brought to my attention just a couple days ago.
Apparently, Sugar is one of the most water-consuming crops that there is. In fact, the statistic that they reported was that an estimated 150 Liters of water is used to produce enough sugar for just a 1-liter bottle of Coke.
The thing I find most ironic about all of this is that, all together, there are hundreds of liters of water that it takes to make a little bit of coke… which is bad enough… but then when you drink it, it makes you MORE thirsty!