Sustainability venture capital fund founded by Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is working towards net zero by 2040, with aims to reduce carbon emissions 25% by 2030 from 2015.
Founded in 1886, the beverage company encompasses numerous household brands including Fanta, Sprite, Minute Maid, Powerade and Schweppes, and is one of the most famous beverage companies in the world.
With a global reach and brand value of over US$89bn, Coca-Cola’s impact is key, and the company has numerous sustainability initiatives in play.
These include water balancing, and ensuring return 100%+ of water used in drinks. The company has also set a target for reusing 50% of materials in its bottles and cans by 2030.
Sustainability initiatives: Funding a net zero future
The company has recently announced the launch of a venture capital fund to invest further in sustainability.
There are five areas that have been identified as having the most potential to decrease carbon output over the brand, which the fund is going to target:
- Packaging
- Heating and cooling
- Facility decarbonisation
- Distribution
- Supply chain
The fund is the first of its kind to be managed by seed to growth venture capitalist firm Greycroft, who work to redefine the Internet economy.
“The market for sustainable supply chain and manufacturing technology has continued to grow as consumer brands rise to meet the demands of environmentally conscious customers,” said Dana Settle, Greycroft’s Co-Founder and Managing Partner.
“Greycroft has an ‘invest anywhere’ approach that we believe allows us to identify promising startups with climate tech solutions ready to scale.”
Global bottlers funding sustainability investment
The US$137.7m capital foundations come from a small group of bottlers who, combined, make up half of Coca-Cola system volume globally.
The Coca-Cola Company, Arca Continental, Coca-Cola Bottling Co. UNITED, Coca-Cola Consolidated, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Coca-Cola FEMSA, Coca-Cola HBC, Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling and Swire Coca-Cola have each committed US$15m.
“This fund offers an opportunity to pioneer innovative solutions and help scale them quickly within the Coca-Cola system and across the industry,” says John Murphy, President and CFO of Coca-Cola.
“We expect to benefit from getting access to emerging technology and science for sustainability and carbon reduction.”
