New pedestrian alleys created along the Perlovska River by Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria volunteers and partners

The clean-up and revitalization activities at two locations in Sofia are part of the 18^th edition of the volunteer initiative “My Green City”

Hundreds of Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria employees and company’s partners joined the 18^th edition of the volunteer initiative “My Green City” in Sofia.

Volunteers cleaned and revitalized the area along the Perlovska River – from the “Toplocentrala” art space to South Park – together with The Collective Foundation, the organizer of the annual “Rivers of Sofia” festival. They were also joined by volunteers from the Social Future Foundation, which actively supports the employment of people with different abilities. In addition to collecting waste separately, all participants trimmed bushes around the riverbed, creating new pedestrian alleys for walking in the green spaces. This way, Sofia residents can enjoy the picturesque Perlovska River and the rich biodiversity of South Park, which includes more than 65 bird species, 29 of which are protected, and 2 listed in Bulgaria’s Red Book of endangered species.

"As our “My Green City” campaign comes of age, it enters a new stage of development. Over the years, it has proven to be a sustainable initiative, open to new partnerships and meaningful ideas with real impact. We are proud that, together with our volunteers, continue to inspire more people to get involved. This proves that when efforts are shared and directed towards caring for nature, we can achieve lasting positive change in the environment we live in," said Jacklin Tzocheva, Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Director at Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria.

"We thank all the volunteers from “My Green City” who helped us clean another section of the Perlovska River banks, bringing us closer to turning it into a vibrant public space. This is the main mission of the ‘Rivers of Sofia’ initiative, and we are glad to find new allies," commented Martin Yankov, founder of “Rivers of Sofia.”

In partnership with the Surya Foundation, Coca-Cola HBC volunteers also cleaned Kremikovtsi Park and its surrounding areas to make the capital even more beautiful and green. Dozens of bags of textile, plastic, paper, glass, and metal waste were separately collected and handed over to ECOPACK Bulgaria for recycling.

"We believe that good has power when it is shared. We proved it today with the clean-up together with Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria volunteers," said Georgi Ganchev, founder of the Surya Foundation.

The “My Green City” initiative is carried out in line with Coca-Cola HBC’s global ESG commitments and each year supports volunteer efforts on World Cleanup Day, in partnership with the national campaign “Let’s Clean Bulgaria Together.”

As part of previous editions of “My Green City,” the Coca-Cola team in Bulgaria has managed to green, clean, and revitalize numerous local areas, forests, and parks. In 2024 alone, volunteers cleaned more than 1,500 decares of polluted land around water bodies and planted 200 deciduous and coniferous trees in Sofia. In past campaigns, they planted more than 7 decares of forests, collected tons of waste separately from dozens of polluted locations across Bulgaria, cleaned over 30 km of coastal zones, transformed 10 public transport stops in Sofia into plastic collection points, and supported numerous community-beneficial initiatives.