In defence of Coca-Cola
I would like to clarify a few points around the comments made within the article, in particular with reference to our Wakefield site’s commitment to sustainability.
The site at Wakefield opened in 1989 as part of an original investment of £90M, and over the past 20 years the site has established itself as a leader in sustainable development.
To mark its 20th anniversary in October 2009, we opened a new pre-form area, which was the result of a £6M investment. This enables us to produce our own pre-forms, which are then blown into polyethylene terephthalate bottles, helping to cut production costs and carbon emissions by reducing delivery miles by 135,000 miles every year.
We have invested over £150M to ensure that the Wakefield site is leading-edge in terms of technology, making us one of the most efficient bottlers in the system, able to produce soft drinks at high speed and with minimal impact on the environment.
Our track record of pioneering environmental initiatives includes introducing an anaerobic water treatment plant and sustainable packaging across our product range. We have also been working with our can supplier, Rexam, to have our two factories built side-by-side in order to reduce transportation. All waste on-site is recycled or recovered, with zero going to landfill.
Ian Johnson, operations director, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Wakefield
