By Greentech Lead Africa: The Coca-Cola Company and The
Coca-Cola Africa Foundation have committed a $3.5 million to the United States
Water Partnership (USWP) to advance sustainable water access in African
countries facing the greatest clean water challenges.
The USWP, a public-private partnership, established to
unite American expertise, knowledge and resources, and mobilize those assets to
address water challenges around the globe, especially in the developing world.
Coca-Cola’s commitment will support USWP
operations as well as water access programs in countries with the most
significant water access needs through its flagship program, the Replenish
Africa Initiative (RAIN).
 “Access to safe water is essential for our company
and our world. The sustainability of water resources is a top priority at The
Coca-Cola Company. We are honored to support the U.S. Water Partnership while
being a catalyst for sustainable water access solutions in Africa, said Bea
Perez, chief sustainability officer, Coca-Cola Company .”
In 2012, Coca-Cola will provide more than $3MM in support
of five African countries including Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia,
Madagascar, Mozambique and Somaliland. These countries are One hundred million
people, nearly one third of those lacking safe water access on the African
continent, live in these five countries.
The funds will support the projects which are core to the
Company’s 2012 RAIN project portfolio that addresses the diversity of water
challenges faced by Africans, including sustainable agriculture, water and
sanitation in schools, and rural and urban community water access. The USWP
will also make the best practices from these RAIN investments widely available
to the global water sector.
Also as part of this effort, The Coca-Cola Company will
provide $500,000 of operational support to the USWP to bring additional
resources to African countries characterized as high-need for clean water and
sanitation.
Coca-Cola plans to improve water efficiency by 20 percent
by 2012
Recently, Coca-Cola released its fifth annual Global
Water Stewardship and Replenish Report. According to the report, Coca-Cola is
improving its water performance and managing its water resources to deliver
water for health and human prosperity.
editor@greentechlead.com