Environment

Environment

We have a responsibility for society, the environment and the world arround us. This is embodied in our DNA, together with our pursuit of sustainable development that creates value for business and society.

We consistently strive to reduce the amount of water and electricity used in our production, and to increase waste recycling rates. We also run one of the most important environmental initiatives in Bulgaria, My Green City, which aims to make our environment greener and more enjoyable for all.


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During the spring tree-planting campaign of 2024 in Sofia, over 200 colleagues from the Coca-Cola System in Bulgaria participated in planting nearly 200 donated broadleaf and coniferous trees as part of the municipality’s initiative "A Forest in the Neighborhood." We believe these trees will bring joy to the residents and visitors of the capital, particularly in the inter-block spaces of the "Sveta Troitsa" and "Buxton" neighborhoods, as well as in Sofia's largest parks. Reforestation and park area renewal efforts were carried out in green spaces around the National Palace of Culture (NDK), South Park, "Geo Milev" Park, and "Sveta Troitsa" Park. Deputy Mayor for "Green System, Ecology, and Land Use" of Sofia Municipality, Nadezhda Bobcheva, also joined the volunteers.

The donated and planted trees represent more than 10 species, including magnolia, globe catalpa, red oak, red-leaf plum, and sycamore. The selection of tree species and their sizes (over 2 meters) was coordinated with the municipal departments of "Green System" and "Environment" to meet the specific needs of each location.

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Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria continues to prove that real change toward a greener future and a "World Without Waste" begins with small but meaningful steps today. As part of the "My Green City" initiative, company employees, together with the Mayor of Kostinbrod, Trayko Mladenov, planted nearly 40 trees in the city's newly developing park. Among the nearly 10 species planted were linden, silver fir, tulip tree, Japanese cherry, and sweetgum. The tree species were carefully selected to align with the local ecosystem and climate conditions, ensuring maximum sustainability, a contribution to biodiversity, and the creation of a pleasant and healthy space for recreation for the residents and visitors of Kostinbrod.

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Over 1,500 decares of polluted areas near water bodies were cleaned by hundreds of employees and partners of Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria during the 17th edition of the company’s volunteer initiative "My Green City." Organized in support of World Cleanup Day and in partnership with bTV’s "Let’s Clean Bulgaria Together" campaign, the initiative once again demonstrated its commitment to environmental sustainability.

The largest group of volunteers rolled up their sleeves in Sofia, cleaning polluted areas in North Park, which spans over 500 decares. The other seven locations, whose natural beauty was restored thanks to the participants’ efforts, were in or around the cities of Varna, Burgas, Plovdiv, Pleven, Veliko Tarnovo, Stara Zagora, and Blagoevgrad. The result – tons of separately collected textile, plastic, paper, glass, and metal waste, which were handed over for recycling in partnership with ECOPACK Bulgaria.

We focus our efforts in several areas relevant to our business:

  • Protecting water sources

  • Energy and climate

  • Packaging and recycling


Protecting water sources

 

Water is essential for Coca‑Cola HBC Bulgaria, as it is a basic ingredient of our products. Accordingly, the company is very responsible in using this most precious natural resource. Coca‑Cola HBC Bulgaria invests in research, monitoring and predicting water resources especially in the regions hosting our bottling plants.

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Energy and climate

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The company undertakes measures to manage the risks arising from climate change. We focus on energy efficiency improvements in our production facilities, conversion to cleaner sources of energy, reducing emissions throughout the product lifecycle, promoting energy efficiency awareness and initiatives, and adaptation to climate change.

- 100% Green Electricity in Production
In 2023, 100% of the electricity used in our production facilities came from renewable sources, compared to 72% in 2021.


Packaging, Waste, and Recycling Management

 

Packaging is indispensable when it comes to providing consumers with high-quality products and protecting these products from contamination. Packaging materials, however, have a heavy environmental footprint. Accordingly, we assess these impacts and work to mitigate them at every lifecycle phase, from production to safe disposal.

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Since 2022, our Bankia plant has not landfilled municipal waste. We have contracts in place for the transfer of separately collected waste, and mixed municipal waste is taken to the Mechanical Biological Treatment Plant of the Sofia Municipality, where all separation, preparation for recycling and recovery activities are applied. All of this is the result of our long-term Action Plan to prevent landfilling and thus meet our zero waste targets (Road to Zero Waste in Bankia). 

 

Since 2022, at the Kostinbrod plant, we have achieved a lightweighting of the 1.25 liter PET bottles we use –from 34 grams to 31 grams. At first glance this is only 3 grams, but they make a huge difference on an annual basis, saving 75 tonnes of materials and 165 tonnes of CO2 emissions. We are also implementing a waste action plan at the Kostinbrod plant, where we have improved separate collection and recycling activities to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.

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We have reduced packaging weight of Bankia PET bottles:

  • 0.5 l. PET — the earlier 12.1 g bottle was replaced by a twist-design PlantBotttle decreasing weight to 10.3 g in 2016
  • 0.75 l. PET — from 22 g to 17.2 g in 2017
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