Coca-Cola unveils environment plan
Copyright 2000, Associated Press
June 28, 2000
Under fire from environmentalists, the Coca-Cola Co. said Tuesday that it would have in place new policies on the use of hydrofluorocarbons in refrigeration by the time of the 2004 Olympics.
Environmental watchdog Greenpeace has targeted the Atlanta-based company in Australia, accusing Coke of breaking "Green Games" environmental guidelines, including bans on HFCs, which have been linked to global warming, at Olympic sites. The guidelines formed an integral part of Sydney's bid to serve as host of the 2000 Olympics.
In an announcement in Sydney and Atlanta, Coca-Cola chairman Doug Daft detailed a new environmental policy for cold drink equipment.
"We will intensify our efforts to support research and innovation to accelerate the technological development of more environmentally friendly equipment," Daft said.
He said the initiative includes:
By the Olympics in Athens four years from now, the company will no longer purchase cold drink equipment using hydrofluorocarbons as refrigerant gases or insulation when cost-efficient alternatives are available.
Between now and 2004, Coca-Cola will expand its research and development program to identify and field test a variety of alternative refrigeration methods.
Suppliers will be required to announce schedules to use only HFC-free foam insulation and refrigerant in all new cold drink equipment by 2004.
In accord with the international Kyoto Agreement on climate change, the company is requiring suppliers to develop, by the end of the decade, new equipment that is 40-50 percent more energy efficient than today's.
Environmentalists estimate Coca-Cola will have 1,700 refrigerators using HFCs in Sydney and only 100 coolers that comply with the "Green Games" guidelines.
Coca-Cola has said the cooling equipment to be used at Olympic sites was a "significant advance" in energy efficiency and that commercial drink coolers using alternative refrigerants were not commercially available on a scale required for the Olympics.