Conducting business as a member of the communities one serves
Conducting business as a member
of the communities one serves
Businesses do not exist in isolation, but impact communities and the environment. One company operating in the Danube River Basin, Coca-Cola Hellenic, demonstrates that understanding that impact can help improve the environment for future generations.
Investments in water are not just good for the environment; businesses like Coca-Cola Hellenic are proving that investing in water is good for business.
Every creature, every plant on planet Earth needs water to survive. We therefore see it as a duty of people in every walk of life, and businesses of all types, to do what they can to prevent misuse of water, avoid polluting it, maintain its availability and encourage active participation in protecting it today – and for future generations.
Sir Michael Llewellyn-Smith, Chairman of the Coca-Cola Hellenic Human Resources Committee and Social Responsibility Committee
Public-private partnerships are best investigated by studying the process of development from the beginning. A representative of the ICPDR’s first Business Friend of the Danube, sir Michael Llewellyn-Smith of Coca-Cola Hellenic, outlines the past, present and future of the public-private partnership from a business perspective.
Danube Watch: Why does Coca-Cola Hellenic focus on water-related projects in the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities?
Llewellyn-Smith: Our focus on water is part of our overall commitment, across all of our operations, to sustainability, not only of our business, but also of the communities we serve. There are two main reasons for this.
One, water is an important ingredient in our soft drinks. It is used in the cleansing processes and operation of equipment in our bottling plants. Accordingly, we have a responsibility to protect and preserve water resources in order to ensure the continued development of our business.
Two, we understand that in order to achieve this goal we must extend our water conservation and educational efforts more widely, so as to ensure its proper management and continued availability. Quite simply, water is essential to our business life and to the lives and livelihoods of everyone.
Every creature, every plant on planet Earth, needs water to survive. We therefore see it as a duty of people in every walk of life, and businesses of all types, to do what they can to prevent misuse of water, avoid polluting it, maintain its availability and encourage active participation in protecting it today – and for future generations.
Danube Watch: How do you integrate local projects into the over all CSR strategy of your company?
Llewellyn-Smith: All our commitments to CSR, water included, are carried out, supervised and monitored by the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee, which operates under the Board of Directors of the Company.
As protection of the environment is a key policy of Coca-Cola Hellenic, this is communicated at all levels throughout the company. Managers at regional, country and local levels are informed about their obligations, and how to initiate, conduct and report on their CSR activities.
Operational water saving and reduction of pollution were an integral part of our bottling activities for years before the Danube partnership. Since its inception in 2005, the Green Danube Partnership has stimulated further preservation and communications projects. Among these are projects aimed at safeguarding Danube tributaries, catchment areas and wetlands, as well as other major rivers and natural habitats.
Danube Watch: Aside from financial constraints, what are the main obstacles for a company like yours to become active in endeavours for water management?
Llewellyn-Smith: The primary challenge is to communicate the message that the private sector can make a meaningful contribution to achieving public sector goals. Public private partnerships, or PPPs, are increasingly being pursued by both parties, and there is a growing number of examples illustrating their benefits. The Green Danube Partnership is one of them.
A PPP uses a diverse range of strengths and capabilities possessed by each party. In a genuine and trusting relationship the two entities can amplify the contributions each could make individually and thereby produce better results. Equal partnership and mutual confidence are the essentials.
Danube Watch: How do you deal with criticism that large corporations seek only opportunities for ‘green-washing’ when they get active in environmental projects?
Llewellyn-Smith: The best, indeed the only, way to counter such comments is to present the facts. In fulfilling our commitment to CSR, Coca-Cola Hellenic employs its communications expertise to channel information about its sustainability endeavours to its own employees and the broader community.
Beyond this, we invite our stakeholders to scrutinise our efforts, primarily through publication of an annual Sustainability Report which lists our aims, our achievements – and where we could do better. We invite stakeholders to comment on our reporting, and propose improvements. We invite independent assessment agencies to conduct a thorough review of our reported achievements. The company’s CSR Committee monitors all feedback and ensures that improvements are implemented.
Our willingness to be audited and evaluated has led to recognition of our CSR commitments by FTSE4Good, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and the DJ STOXX European Index, as well as a number of other institutions.
Danube Watch: What can a company expect in return for its contributions to environmental management?
Llewellyn-Smith: This takes us back to your first question. Why are we concerned about the environment? Why are we focusing on water? The answer is that we must!
We conduct our businesses as a member of the communities we serve. We cannot be isolated from them. Our sustainability as a business entity is dependent upon the sustainability of the environment in which we operate. Our reward, if that is the right word, for our contribution to managing the environment, helping to protect the Danube and encouraging others to join in our efforts, comes from achieving genuine, measureable results that will support our business and the well-being of all of our stakeholders today and in the future.
Our stakeholders are all those who are in any way touched by our activities. We want to go on producing and selling refreshing, enjoyable, high quality soft drinks in a world that manages its resources responsibly and sustainably. Everyone will benefit from this!
sIR MIchAel lleWellyN-sMITh KcVo cMg
Sir Michael is Chairman of the Coca-Cola Hellenic Human Resources Committee and Social Responsibility Committee. Before taking this office, Sir Michael had a distinguished career in the British diplomatic service. He is currently Vice President of the British School at Athens, Honorary Fellow of St Antony’s College, Oxford, and member of the council of the Anglo-Hellenic League. He is also a historian and author of a number of books about Greece
