Coca-Cola has launched a campaign with the slogan Live Positively to reflect their philosophy and plans that ensure all aspects of their business be geared toward sustainability.
“We have taken a serious consideration on how to address all the issues that we have impacted to the world’s economy, environment and social. And of course, Indonesia is no exception,” Torsten Kuenzlen, president director of Coca Cola Indonesia, said while referring to Live Positively as the company’s commitment to making a positive difference in the world by embedding sustainability across their business and value chain.
Torsten explained that Live Positively was built on Coca Cola’s heritage. “Since 1927, the presence of Coca Cola and its bottling partners in Indonesia is always about seeking to run the business in a responsible way. But today, more is required. The social, environmental and economic issues facing Indonesia and the world are more urgent than ever. And they affect us all. It’s time for us to strive for sustainability that will bring benefits for posterity.”
Coca-Cola believes that Live Positively is something that will help them achieve a more successful business in the 21st century. The philosophy behind Live Positively has the potential not only to make the giant Coca-Cola a preferred employer, but also to enhance the quality of the employees by sharing values that can lead to better sustainable goals.
Looking at the fact that customers in general have their preference over companies with a sustainability focus, “we believe that Live Positively will help to make our beverage products the preferred choice for our customers,” Torsten expressed his confidence.
His confidence is in fact based on a myriad of researches showing that consumers increasingly make purchasing decisions not just based on product’s quality and taste, but also based on sustainability factors. “Likewise, we believe that Live Positively will help to make us a trusted partner to the communities in which Coca-Cola operates,” he said adding, “Live Positively, through the presence of Coca-Cola in 206 countries, will undoubtedly make a positive difference in the world we live in.”
Torsten is also very optimistic that Coca-Cola Indonesia, with a workforce of 11,000 employees and 11 plants nationwide, will make a great contribution on sustainability efforts through Live Positively as the company’s sustainability strategy.
Asked if Live Positively is simply Corporate Social Responsibility, Torsten responded, “Live Positively is broader than what other companies call social responsibility. Live Positively applies not only to social contribution, but also to our entire value chain. For this reason, we are integrating sustainability considerations and programs across our business with a holistic approach that encompasses the four main areas where our business interacts with society; workplace, marketplace, community and environment.
By covering the four main areas, Coca-Cola implements the strategy that is based on seven pillars:
Beverage benefits – the company will always continue to innovate to meet the evolving lifestyles and refreshment needs of consumers, providing a broad portfolio of quality beverages in a range of pack sizes. In Indonesia, this includes some new beverage products launched this year, such as Minute Maid Tropical and Fanta Fruitpunch, as well as the company’s continuous innovation which will hit the market outlets across the country in years to come.
Active Healthy Living – The objective is to help people lead active healthy lives by producing a wide variety of beverages providing nutrition information and consumer education, as well as supporting physical activity programs. In Indonesia, for example, the company conducts grassroots physical activity programs such as those of soccer and music involving hundreds of thousands teenagers. The company has also launched an initiative to place front-of-pack energy information on their products in Indonesia, which will easily help consumers select the products that fit their daily energy, hydration and refreshment needs.
Global Water Stewardship – The goal is to safety return to communities and nature the amount of water equivalent to what the company use in their production by 2010. The company will bring forward sustainable community water partnerships and programs that contribute to the goal of returning the water at a level that supports aquatic life.
Sustainable Packaging – Reducing the use of packaging materials in glass and PET bottles, while continuously introducing to the market lighter weight packages, which are still safe and effective. In related to this, the company will implement programs that encourage consumer to recycle.
Energy Management and Climate Protection – With the aim of becoming the beverage industry leader in energy conservation and climate protection, the company is committed to growing their business by not producing the carbon footprint from their manufacturing operations worldwide, including in Indonesia.
Community – As a means of fostering sustainable communities in Indonesia, the company will actively support locally relevant programs in the fields of education, youth development, environment and disaster relief.
Workplace – It is the company’s global goal to foster a work environment where employees are inspired to create superior results. In Indonesia, the company will provide an open, safe and healthy workplace where the employees are treated with fairness and respect, and given training to develop their skills and opportunities to contribute to sustainable business success.
This advertorial was published in The Jakarta Post on October 21, 2010.