Monday, January 17, 2022 at 01:59 PM
Casablanca – Coca-Cola’s Africa Operating Unit (“AOU”) and its bottler partners announced on Monday the launch of JAMII, the new sustainable development platform dedicated to Africa.
The platform hosts Coca-Cola’s current and future sustainability initiatives, the brand said in a statement, noting that through this exclusive platform, it hopes to attract like-minded partners to drive sustainability. accelerating the impact of its initiatives on the ground.
Thus, the new platform will build on past achievements that it will develop in three areas, namely water management, economic empowerment of women and youth and waste management, notes the same source, adding that these achievements will be implemented with bottling partners, Coca-Cola employees and several NGO partners.
“As market leaders, we are aware of our responsibilities, our duty to advance the empowerment of communities and to protect the environment within which we operate. Whether it’s giving people access to clean water, creating economic opportunity for those who urgently need it, or reducing the impact of our activities on the environment, we are committed to make a difference,” says Bruno Pietracci, president of The Coca-Cola Company for Africa.
For her part, Patricia Obozuwa, Africa Vice-President of Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability argues: “We chose the name Jamii, a Swahili word that means community, society, people, because it represents what that we are as Africans and that it corresponds to our values as an organization: our resilience, our commitment and our spirit of community”.
She also clarified that bringing sustainability efforts together under this platform will strengthen the brand’s value proposition and continue to be a trusted partner for sustainable growth in Africa.
And to add that “in the area of economic empowerment of women and young people, Jamii will promote and stimulate entrepreneurship opportunities by improving access to vocational training, networks, finance and markets. . To date, over 2 million women across Africa have been empowered through the 5by20 Program”.
“In the area of water management, we will replenish 100% of the water used to manufacture our products through efficient use of water in our operations, we will support the conservation of natural water resources and we will improve the communities’ access to water and their adaptation to Classified – Confidential climate change,” she said.
To date, the combined efforts of Coca-Cola Africa, The Coca-Cola Foundation and its partners have provided more than 6 million people with sustainable access to clean water through the Replenish Initiative. Africa (RAIN).
With regard to waste management, Coca-Cola Africa is committed to working towards a world without waste. Almost all of Coca-Cola’s packaging is already recyclable, and the Company has set a goal to recycle the equivalent of 100% of its packaging waste by 2030.
Ms. Obozuwa further noted that Coca-Cola Africa is already forming new partnerships to facilitate the implementation of Jamii projects that will help achieve these goals.
Internally, Jamii will engage Coca-Cola employees to promote these goals within their communities. Employee-nominated charities will receive grants and employee volunteerism will be encouraged.
Additionally, the Coca-Cola Employee Disaster Relief Fund will support employees facing financial hardship following a natural disaster.