21/08/2023 (Japan/ New Zealand) - Coca-Cola's Japanese arm and Suntory Holdings, two major beverage makers in Japan, intensified efforts to combat water scarcity's growing business risks.
Collaborating with local areas, Coca-Cola (Japan) and Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan aimed to boost water replenishment near Tokyo's Tama bottling plant. Situated in an urban zone with limited soil and trees for groundwater replenishment, the plant faced watershed challenges.
The Coca-Cola group also partnered with Tabayama village to thin out dense forests, aiding reforestation, and transformed dormant rice fields into cultivable land in Hachioji city.
Setting a goal of a 100% water replacement rate, Coca-Cola (Japan) and local bottlers already exceeded 300%. They aimed to achieve this for the Tama plant by the decade's end.
Suntory, the Japanese beverage producer, expanded its water and nature education program to the U.K. and New Zealand. The initiative, started in Japan in 2004, focused on teaching about water cycles and upstream pollution prevention.
Suntory pledged to surpass 100% water replacement at half its global manufacturing plants by 2030. As water insecurity rose due to growth and climate change, the World Meteorological Organization projected around 5 billion people would face water access issues annually by mid-century.