Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Water use · Global · 2015–2016

Coca-Cola reports replenishing 115% of the water it used in 2015

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 3 none on record · 1 not measured See the gaps

In 2016 Coca-Cola said it had returned 115% of the water it used in 2015, through 248 initiatives. What is at stake for nature is whether water taken from a basin is actually returned to that basin.

What?
Coca-Cola announced that it had replenished 115% of the water it used in 2015, about 192 billion litres, through 248 initiatives. Christian Science Monitor
Where?
Global, company-wide water use. Christian Science Monitor
When?
Announced in August 2016 for water use in 2015. Christian Science Monitor
Who?
Gained
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Through 248 initiatives, some benefiting the water sources the company draws from and some serving communities not directly affected by its withdrawals. Christian Science Monitor
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

In August 2016 Coca-Cola said it had replenished 115% of the water it used in 2015, about 192 billion litres, through 248 initiatives, the Christian Science Monitor reported.

According to the same report, some initiatives benefited the water sources the company draws from, and others served communities not directly affected by its withdrawals.

The same report recalled that a bottling plant in northern India had been closed in 2014 after extracting excessive groundwater.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • None on record The sources reviewed do not say whether the initiatives restored the same groundwater or surface water the company drew, or what their measured effect was.
    • None on record Not stated: how the company counted its water use, and whether the 248 initiatives were independently checked.
    • None on record Not stated: the local effect of the groundwater extraction at the northern India plant, or any remediation after its 2014 closure.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    1. Coca-Cola 115% water replenishment report (2015 water use)
      Christian Science Monitor · 29.08.2016

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Science and environment

    Groundwater
    Water held underground in soil and rock, drawn through wells.
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