Section ECONOMY
TOPIC

Coca-Cola Tria Epsilon Hellas
New environmentally friendly packaging from Natural Mineral Water AVRA

In 2014, Natural Mineral Water AVRA, by Coca-Cola 3E, launched an innovative new 500 ml and 1,5 ml per bottle, decreasing by 24% the plastic used. These two package constitute 855 of the total AVRA volume in the market. The innovation of this initiative, apart from decreasing plastic, is also in the specialized design of the new light weight “Twist” packaging which:
 

• Allows the minimization of the empty bottle size, with just one hand movement, if we follow the arrows on the bottle.
• Continues to allow the bottle to be robust and strong and minimizes the disfigurements.

 

 

Greek consumers (all ages).

The product was launched in 2014 in the Greek market.

Natural Mineral Water has been consistently supporting the environment, which alongside with Coca-Cola 3E’s steady orientation to developing sustainable practices, following its Social Responsibility Strategy, have determined the launch of the new light weight and environmentally friendly bottles. Natural Mineral Water AVRA is produced in Coca-Cola Tria Epsilon production plant in Aigio, where the company has invested the significant amount of 3 million euros in order to upgrade the technological infrastructure of the plant as well as the establishment itself, for the production of the new packaging. The environmental benefit of the new water bottles, lighter by 24% in plastic, is dual:
 

• Decrease in produced CO2 by 23,8%, which corresponds to 1.806.780 kg CO2 and equals to saving the same emissions we have when we drive 10.479.326 km or when a plane flies for 16.098.412 km.
• Decrease of the total volume of waste and easier facilitate recycling, due to the specialized design of the bottle, which allows the minimization of its size with just one hand gesture.
 

Moreover, this initiative has a significant socio-economic impact due to the size of the company’s investment. This investment proves that Coca-Cola Tria Epsilon remains engaged to the local production of its products and to supporting local and national economy. Last but not least, the launch procedure of the new bottles constitutes a benchmark for the Coca-Cola HBC Group, since it entailed topnotch cost leadership, project implementation, cross-functional collaboration, effective collaboration with suppliers and could easily be a protocol case for the rest of the 28 countries of our Group, which are called to deliver similar initiatives.

Ν/Α

Cross- Functional Collaboration mainly between the Finance, Marketing, Supply Chain and Commercial departments.

Greece

The innovation of the new "Twist" bottle, adopted by AVRA Natural Mineral Water, that differentiates it from the rest players in the market, goes beyond its environmental benefits (decrease of plastic and thus decrease of emissions) and can be pin-pointed to the design of the bottle. Its unique design allows the empty bottle to be minimized with just one hand gesture, if the user follows the indication of the embossed arrows on the bottle. This way, we significantly minimize the volume of waste. In the meantime, the bottle continues to be robust and strong and minimizes any possible disfigurements.

The benefits of this project are mainly environmental, since the original scope for its implementation was environmental sustainability:
 

1. Significant decrease in the used plastic versus previous packaging (24%).
2. Significant decrease in produced CO2 by 23,8%, which corresponds to 1.806.780 kg CO2 and equals to saving the same emissions we have when we drive 10.479.326 km or when a plane flies for 16.098.412 km.
3. Decrease in the total waste produced due to the bottle’s innovative design (Twist bottle), which allows the minimization of the emply bottle size with just one hand gesture.
 

Apart from its environmental attributes, this project is also important on an operational and socioeconomic level:
 

  • Operational level: It is a methodological benchmark for the Coca-Cola HBC Group, member of which is Coca-Cola Tria Epsilon, as well as a benchmark on managing investment to gain full return.
  • Socioeconomic level: It is an investment model for the Greek market and alongside it proves our company’s longstanding commitment towards local production of its products. It, also, undersigns the Coca-Cola Tria Epsilon continues to support both local and national economy through consistently investing in a production unit that innovates.