Stefan Galabov: The Coca-Cola System generates 1% of the country’s tax revenues

The group has invested over BGN 130 million in the Bulgarian business in 2021, reports the financial director of Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria in an interview with Capital

Mr. Galabov, the Coca-Cola HBC group has for another year made a significant contribution to the Bulgarian economy and defended its place as one of the leading companies in it. Which of the financial results that you reported in the Corporate Social Responsibility Report for 2020-2021, which was announced in early June, most closely correspond to the priorities in the company's business strategy? Did you meet your goals for this year?

- Coca-Cola HBC keeps expanding its scope and already operates in 29 countries, and in each of them we believe that good companies should not only offer excellent products and services, but also contribute sustainably to our good common future. We have made a rather bold commitment, namely, to achieve net zero emissions by 2040, and to collect and recycle 100% of the packaging we put on the market by 2030. Yes, the goals are ambitious, but we are convinced – and achievable.

As a proof of this, the fact that 100% of the packaging of all products from the Coca-Cola portfolio in our country is now recyclable, while at the same time we managed to reduce our direct carbon emissions by 30%, saving over 90 000 tons of emissions from the overall our activity in the country for 2020 and 2021. Thus, we managed to prematurely fulfill two of the long-term goals we had set for ourselves until 2025.

At the same time, the economic impact of the Coca-Cola System in the country for the past year is expressed in value added of BGN 640 million, with every BGN 1 spent on Coca-Cola beverages leading to BGN 0.75 in revenue for Bulgaria. The numbers show that we contributed BGN 41 million in taxes to the budget and another BGN 237 million indirectly, which is equal to 1/2 of the state budget for cultural activities per year or the annual expenditures for education of about 95 000 students. Of course, we continue to purposefully support local business, as last year we invested BGN 131 million in it, and I can happily share that nearly 70% of our suppliers are Bulgarian companies.

You can find the full interview with Stefan Galabov at Capital.bg.