Sustainable water use practices of Coca-Cola company
Student name: Ms Shoobhangi Tyagi
Guide: Dr Prateek Sharma
Year of completion: 2015
Host Organisation: Coca-Cola India Pvt Ltd
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Mr Rajesh Ayapilla
Abstract: This study looks into the sustainable water use practices of the Coca- Cola Company. With the
increasing population and water scarcity the term sustainability came into existence. This in case of water
refers to the utilization of water in such a way that the resource is able to satisfy the needs of present
generation and can be sufficiently utilized by the future generation too. Since the beverage industry is
primarily based on water for its production, the company understands the value of this resource and have
undertaken certain water efficient initiatives for the conservation and better allocation of this resource. All
it’s initiatives follows the three R of sustainability namely Reduce, Recycle and replenish .The sustainable
practices that are being discussed in this research includes watershed management with special focus on
Artificial Ground water recharge, Adoption of water efficient technologies for the reduction in the water
consumption and the recycling of the waste water from the manufacturing operation for further reuse. The
primary goal is to reduce its water user ratio by increasing the water efficiency and to give back to the
environment much more that what is being consumed in the manufacturing process .The main objective of
this research is to study these water stewardship initiatives of the company’s Franchise Bottling Operators
and analyze their efficacy in meeting the required goals. The method for the review of watershed project
ranges from data quality assessment, physical verification and engagement with the bottling operators for
updating the data. In case of water efficient technology plant’s efficiency has been evaluated on the basis of
their water consumption. The efficacy of the effluent treatment plant (ETP) has been reviewed as per the results
of the water quality testing. The key findings of this research is that the water conservation and
replenishment programs are being efficiently practiced. Extra efforts should be taken to reduce any kind of data
adequacy by making the verification mechanism more robust. There is a need to bring the behavior change
in the community through various programs for better engagement of all the stakeholders. Further there
is a scope to research for more creative approach that will enable the bottling operators to adopt those
technologies that are at present not feasible to them due to various constraints.
Key Words: Sustainability, Watershed Management, Water Efficiency, Water User Ratio, Effluent
Treatment Plant
