Back in 2007, The Coca-Cola Company first announced its ambitious goal to replenish 100% of the water used in the production of its beverages by 2020. Then in 2016 Coca-Cola was excited to share that it had reached this goal globally five years early- the first Fortune 500 company to do so.

While the Company has pledged to maintain its leadership role in corporate water stewardship going forward, here at home Coca-Cola Canada is still on track to hit this important goal by 2020.

Coca-Cola may be a global company, but it knows that it is only as successful as the communities in which it operates. The success of these communities fundamentally depends the health of their watersheds. That’s because a healthy watershed does amazing things like support clean water and habitats for native plants and animals while also storing excess water to mitigate flood damage and improve air quality by absorbing pollutants and greenhouse gases. That is why Coca-Cola’s water replenishment projects are so important.

To mark Canada Water Week and World Water Day this Thursday, Coca-Cola Journey Canada is recognizing the incredible partners we work with on projects right across the country and celebrating recent successes:

WWF Restoration Fund with WWF-Canada

The latest chapter in a decade long history of partnership and collaboration, the WWF Restoration Fund is a joint effort by Coca-Cola and WWF-Canada to promote freshwater health through three great projects across Canada:

In Saint John, NB, Coca-Cola and WWF are supporting ACAP Saint John in ‘daylighting’ long lost sections of the Newman’s and Caledonia Brooks.

On Salt Spring Island in BC they are working with Salt Spring Island Conservancy to return a former golf course to nature at Blackburn Lake.

And in Barkley Sound, BC, the Central Westcoast Forest Society’s Chenatha River Watershed Restoration project is using the support of the WWF Restoration Fund to restore a site devastated by decades of heavy industrial logging.

Ducks Unlimited Canada’s Lake Winnipeg Watershed Program

Last summer the Coca-Cola Foundation gave Ducks Unlimited Canada a $200,000 grant to support its Lake Winnipeg Watershed Program.

The eleventh largest lake in the world and a popular beach destination for Manitobans, Lake Winnipeg has seen a decline in its health with a surge in the growth of algal blooms over the last 30 years. This project will allow Ducks Unlimited to restore the wetlands surrounding the lake, filtering out pollutants that can exacerbate these blooms before they have a chance to reach the lake.

Canadian Museum of Nature’s Nature Inspiration Awards

(left to right) Meg Beckel, Canadian Museum of Nature President and CEO, Brianna Ames and Stephen Henley, Chair of Board of Trustees.

Martin Lipman © Canadian Museum of Nature

Coca-Cola Canada was proud to accept one of 2017’s Nature Inspiration Awards from the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa. The award recognizes exceptional individuals and organizations of all sizes that encourage Canadians to take an interest in the natural world, build a bond with nature and contribute to its preservation. Coca-Cola won in the large business category in recognition of its water reclamation projects and its ongoing work to reach its water replenishment goal by 2020.