Minutes from Meeting between Coca-Cola
Participants:
Mr. Kalman Mizsei, Assistant Secretary General, Director of UNDP Regional Bureau of Europe and CIS (RBEC)
Mr. Jakob Simonsen: UN Resident Coordinator in Turkey, UNDP Resident Representative
Mr. Ahmet Bozer: Coca-Cola, President of Eurasia and Middle East Division (EMED)
Mr. Cumhur Karci, Coca-Cola, Director of EMED Technical Affairs Department
Mr. Kadri Ozen, Coca-Cola, EMED Public Affairs and Communications Manager
Agenda:
1- Overview of the partnership experience between the two organizations, specifically the learnings from the partnership in Turkey
2- Expanding the success of "Hayata Arti/Plus to Life" project in other countries
3- Possibility of a broader partnership on water stewardship
Summary Minutes:
General:
* It's been noted that there was a significant overlap of geographical coverage of the structures of Coca-Cola EMED and UNDP RBEC regions. 16 countries including Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia-Montenegro, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzsthan, Tajikistan were places where both organizations have operation capabilities. This is regarded as a good base for collaboration between the two organizations on sound initiatives.
Agenda item-1:
* Both Coca-Cola and UNDP expressed positive remarks on the initial outcome of the collaboration in Turkey thru the Hayata Arti (Plus to Life) project, which is designed to support youth projects aiming to improve theri quality of lives at their living environments.
Project summary: A 1,5 million USD fund was established by Coca-Cola's financial contribution to support up to 100 projects over five years. The fund already awarded 11 projects designed to address needs in 4 major areas, including education, environment, culture/arts and sports. Attachment of the announcements and award mechanisms to important youth activities, such as the national youth day of Turkey and regions largest youth&music fextival of Rock'n Coke which brings together more than 50,000 people at a festival site over a weekend program, increased the public awareness and visibility of the initiative.
Both parties offered their areas of strengths, i.e: UNDP's network of youth councils thru Local Agenda-21 structure and Coca-Cola's public relations capacity, to achieve greater impact thru this partnership. Youth for Habitat Association was given the task of implementation of the project.
Agenda item-2:
* Both parties expressed willingness of expanding this "Hayata Arti/Plus to Life" partnership over shared geographies.
* Mr. Simonsen noted the fact that the established structure of Local Agenda-21/Youth for Habitat partnership in Turkey was a key contributor to the noted success, thus recommended to be selective in places of expansion to ensure success and satisfactory impact.
* Mr. Bozer offered to design a piloted approach thru prioritized locations where both entities feel they are better equipped and prepared for such a partnership.
* Mr. Mizsei offered sharing this info within both systems, as well as major international policy discussions, such as Summit of Country Resident Representatives of UNDP, while selecting the future countries of partnership.
* It was recommended that Kadri Ozen plays a coordination role within Coca-Cola EMED offices as well as between Coca-Cola and UNDP on possible further collaboration in other countries.
Agenda item-3:
The willingness of broader coopereation over water stewardship was discussed.
* Mr. Bozer stated that Coca-Cola is willing to offer its expertise and strengths of being the most efficient industrial water user among peer companies, for both improving private sector's responsibility on water, as well as serving the community thru some joint initiatives with UNDP
* Both sides stated positive approach and willingness on a possible partnership.
* Mr. Karci gave examples of existing collaboration between Coca-Cola and UNDP in countries including Vietnam and India. Coca-Cola have been involved in many other water-related initiatives, including a recent multinational project aimed at cleaning the Danube.
* Mr. Ozen offered to discuss the possibility of a partnership framework based on UNDP's 6 key practice areas as well as UN's MDG's and Coca-Cola's Global Water Initiative.
* Mr. Mizsei and Simonsen suggested the discussion notes to be shared among participants. UNDP RBEC leadership will share these with Country Resident Representatives and develeop a strategy.
* Built on the positive approaches and willingness for partnership, assigned UNDP and Coca-Cola officers will work together to develop a methodology for a possible partnership.
***
Additional Notes on "UNDP RBEC/Coca-Cola EMED" Water Partnership Project Rationale:
The Coca-Cola Company has identified water as a prioritized key area of concern to both its business and society.
The Coca-Cola Company believes that its first priority is to constantly improve its water resource management, and to produce high quality products as efficiently as possible. The Coca-Cola Company has focused efforts to identify new technologies that can reduce its water use, improve water quality, treat wastewater, and reduce its environmental impact.
Water scarcity is one of the most urgent global challenges. One-third of the world’s population already lives under water-stressed conditions, a figure predicted by UNEP to rise to two-thirds by 2025. Approximately 20 percent of the world’s population does not have access to safe drinking water, leaving them vulnerable to disease and food insecurity. In addition, almost half of the world’s population lacks adequate sanitation, which directly impacts human health and environmental sustainability.
The UN Millennium Development Goals aim to decrease by half the proportion of people without access to safe water and sanitation by 2015.
The Coca-Cola Company believes that it has the responsibility and opportunity to invest in the sustainability of the critical resource of water, and doing so will produce real benefits for both the Company and the wider world.
To achieve this vision, The Coca-Cola Company is committed to:
· being the most efficient industrial water user among peer companies,
· helping to enable access to clean drinking water in underserved communities where we operate,
· supporting the protection of watersheds in water-scarce communities where it operates,
· helping mobilize the international community around global water challenges.
The Coca-Cola Company’s activities on Water Issue:
Although water is abundant in many parts of Vietnam, more than 40 percent of the rural population does not have access to a safe drinking water supply. Moreover, water is often polluted by poor environmental conditions. In 2004, The Coca-Cola Company partnered with UNDP to launch the “Clean water for Communities” initiative. In its first year, the project provided water tanks to 180 needy households and additional water facilities to local schools and clinics in rural communities in six provinces, benefiting thousands of local people. The program also aims to help build the long term capabilities of communities to address their water needs, through ongoing education and the formation of local groups.
The operations of the Coca-Cola System in the Indian state of Kerela was suspended in March 2004 following accusations that it was withdrawing water in a way that negatively impacted local water supplies. The court ruled in 2005 that the non-renewal of license was not justified. The Coca-Cola Company has initiated partnerships to establish local rainwater harvesting in its plants and the communities it serves. The Coca-Cola Company now has rainwater harvesting in more than 80 percent of Company-owned bottling facilities in India, returning a significant amount of water to local groundwater systems.
The Coca-Cola Global Water Initiative
The Coca-Cola Company initiated a comprehensive global water risk assessment- a highly detailed study of water issues at local, regional and global levels- to help build a clear understanding of water related issues facing its business. The Coca-Cola Company used this assessment as a foundation for collectively developing tailored water solutions with its operating groups and bottling partners.
The solutions include the following:
· Operational excellence in managing water resources throughout the manufacturing lifecycle
· Technological innovation to identify and implement breakthrough water technologies, and
· Community and watershed partnerships to work together with other stakeholders to address pressing local water resource challenges.
The Coca-Cola Company’s Water Stewardship Project in Eurasia, Balkans and Middle-East Division:
The Eurasia, Balkans and Middle East Division (EMED) of The Coca-Cola Company intends to work with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to develop and implement partnership projects to serve to the targets described under the framework of UN Millennium Development Goals.
Coca-Cola EMED, is considering to commit a significant financial contribution, in a partnership project to be designed and implemented jointly by UNDP RBEC and Coca-Cola EMED.
UNDP is expected to provide a significant financial contribution to the partnership in line with its program duties to serve the targets described under UN Millennium Development Goals and provide relevant collaboration of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and other government/ non-government and international organizations where appropriate in design of the project.
The design of the partnership is expected to be built on issues like Provision of drinkable water to the most vulnerable communities, improving watershed discharge capacities of the plants and local administrations, addressing issues of water reserve reductions, improving the production quality standards to the highest levels possible to ensure reduced use of water during production, ensuring the provision of best quality products hygienically, share of best practices and lessons learned to other industries to increase the impact, and other priority areas to be defined, based on the Global Water Initiative of The Coca-Cola Company and other relevant studies of United Nations.
Dr. Kadri Ozen
Coca-Cola
Eurasia & Middle East Division
Public Affairs and Communications Manager
Tel: +90.216.556 2230 Mob: +90.533.273 4750