Coca-Cola Rates Itself a “B” in First GRI Report

Soft Drink giant, Coca-Cola, has rated itself a B grade in key performance indicators in the areas of economic, environmental and social performance in its first disclosure and reporting requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

Coca-Cola released its eighth system-wide Sustainability Report, titled Reasons to Believe, saying in an effort to increase transparency across its broad sustainability platform, this year’s report was created using stakeholder feedback and, for the first time, follows the disclosure and reporting requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) to achieve a self-declared grade level “B+.”

The report was also created in a format offering easier access from smart phones, tablets and other popular mobile devices and online.

“Sustainability has been core to our business strategy for nearly 125 years,” said Chief Sustainability Officer Beatriz Perez.

“After receiving feedback from a variety of stakeholders, we decided to make some significant changes to our sustainability reporting efforts. In addition to increasing transparency within the content, we have taken a digital approach to make the report more user-friendly and accessible on a variety of mobile devices. As we continue to strengthen our sustainability efforts, we also will innovate the means by which we share our progress.”

The Coca-Cola Company reported against the GRI’s key performance indicators in the areas of economic, environmental and social performance and self-declared a B grade against the new GRI G3.1 guidelines. This year’s report also received verification by a third party agency, indicating the agency’s approval of tracking systems, resulting in an overall B+ grade.

The 2010/2011 Sustainability Report provides a review on the sustainability efforts of the Company and its nearly 300 bottling partners. The four main areas of focus include water stewardship, energy efficiency and climate protection, sustainable packaging and healthy communities.

See the 2010/2011 Coca-Cola Company Sustainability Report at www.thecoca-colacompany.com/sustainabilityreport.

The Australian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility’s (ACCSR) 5th Annual Conference will be held in Melbourne on 15 February in the Auditorium, Ground Floor, National Australia Bank, 800 Bourke St, Docklands.

The theme of this year’s conference is THE STATE OF CSR IN AUSTRALIA: The Innovation Imperative Taking CSR from Risk Management to Value Creation.

This conference will assert that innovation and value creation are the next frontier in demonstrating the business case for CSR.

Pro Bono Australia is a media partner to the 2012 Conference.

For more information go to the ACCSR website.  
 

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