Coca-Cola Amatil has switched to 100% sustainably accredited sugar across its non-alcoholic beverage portfolio in Australia.
Under contracts running to 2021, Amatil’s sugar purchases are now a mix of Bonsucro and Smartcane Best Management Practice (BMP) certified sugar. Bonsucro and Smartcane BMP are production frameworks which aim to increase on-farm productivity while reducing environmental and social risks.
The decision means the company’s sugar is obtained from farms that have decreased herbicide and pesticide use, a chain of responsibility process from production to final use, and increased use of ethanol – rather than fossil fuels – in growing and milling.
Alison Watkins, Coca-Cola Amatil managing director, said: “We have responsibilities to the community on resource use and renewal, and we’ve also heard customer feedback in favour of greater sustainability in the products we sell.
“The switch to sustainably accredited sugar is a step forward for our overall operations, and also in meeting that customer demand.”
Last year, Coca-Cola Amatil announced plans to reduce the sugar content in its non-alcoholic portfolio of sales by 20% by 2025, as part of an industry-wide pledge announced by the Australian Beverages Council.
In its full-year results published last month, Amatil said Coca-Cola volume sales in Australia grew in the second half of 2018, driven by Coca-Cola No Sugar and the ongoing consumer trend towards low- and no-sugar choices.
Coca-Cola No Sugar volume sales led overall Coca-Cola trademark volumes into positive territory for the half. “We’ve heard the message on consumer wellbeing, and we’re delivering with low- and no-sugar options for all our major beverage brands,” said Watkins.
In a move to boost its sustainability efforts, Coca-Cola Amatil earlier this year announced it will no longer distribute plastic drinking straws or stirrers in Australia and will instead stock fully recyclable and biodegradable Forest Stewardship Council-accredited paper straws.
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