Businesses and brands are increasingly beholden to healthy communities and constituents for their bottom-line growth.

Coca-Cola just released its ninth annual Sustainability Report and second Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Report, making the point that sustainability and corporate citizenship aren't sidebars to the company. "We're working to embed sustainability-minded innovations into every aspect of our business, from sourcing ingredients to increasing beverage options to aspiring to be water neutral and recovering packages for recycling," stated Muhtar Kent, Coca-Cola's CEO.

"Coca-Cola is intent on growing our business by making a difference wherever our business touches the world and the world touches our business,” added Bea Perez, the company’s first Chief Sustainability Officer, who was hired in July 2011.

The company's Sustainability Report is presented as a fully interactive website (tagline: "Every bottle has a story") features videos, social media capabilities, third-party opinions on global challenges and an updated digital design accessible through smartphones, tablets and mobile devices.Continue reading...

What is a beverage powerhouse to do when another company produces something that is going to eat into its market share? Attempt to crush it, of course.

Kraft introduced beverage drops called MiO last year, putting its marketing muscle behind a new water flavoring brand that created a new category and made the global snacks behemoth more than $100 million in the first half of 2012 alone, according to the Associated Press. So what is Coca-Cola going to do in the coming weeks? Launch Dasani Drops, described as "a zero-calorie liquid beverage enhancer that allows people to add a veritable burst of flavor to their water."

The latest product from Coca-Cola's water brand and PlantBottle innovator is more than just a tastier way to drink water (it's described as "naturally flavored with other natural flavors"). The drops empower consumers to decide just how much flavoring they’d like, encouraging user interaction and customization — which is why Kraft called their product "MiO" (mine in Italian).

Four different flavors of Dasani Drops — Strawberry Kiwi, Pink Lemonade, Pineapple Coconut and Mixed Berry — will roll out in early October with more fruit flavorings expected next year (MiO offers nine flavors). And Coca-Cola has big plans for Dasani Drops — "I think there's an opportunity beyond just flavored waters," said John Roddey, VP of Coca-Cola's water, tea and coffee business in North America.Continue reading...

When you’ve got more than 1.2 billion residents, marketers want you in the worst way. And so Coca-Cola is going big-time after the Indian market, upping its investment there by $3 billion to a whopping $5 billion through 2020. That means the next time you go to there to climb the world’s third-highest mountain, Kanchenjunga, or visit with the Dalai Lama, a Coke product shouldn’t be too far away from your grasp.

According to Fox Business, the money will go toward helping Coca-Cola's India subsidiary expand “its distribution network, cold drink equipment placement and manufacturing capacity.” The company had a good first quarter with earnings rising 7.9% and revenue going up almost 6%. In India, though, the company had a 20% increase. Not too shabby. In fact, sales have gone up in India for 23 straight quarters and Coke’s Thums Up and Sprite are the two leading soft-drink brands there, Fox reports.

"Achieving continued sustainable, responsible growth in India is core to achieving our 2020 Vision of doubling system revenues in this decade," said Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company in a press release. "Our ongoing investment in India is focused on delivering innovation, partnerships and a portfolio that enhances the consumer experience, ensures product affordability and builds brand loyalty to deliver long-term growth."Continue reading...

Sustainability just got that much stronger as Coca-Cola, Ford, Heinz, Nike, and Procter & Gamble have created the Plant PET Technology Collaborative (PTC) to accelerate the development and deployment of 100% plant-based PET materials and fiber in their products.

PET, a.k.a., polyethylene terephthalate, is the durable, lightweight plastic used by these five companies in their bottles, apparel, footwear and automotive fabric and carpet.

Building on Coca-Cola’s PlantBottle packaging technology, these products have a lesser environmental impact than traditional PET plastic bottles. Heinz licenses the technology for select ketchup bottles in the U.S. and Canada.Continue reading...

Two years ago, Americans were throwing away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour, according to SmartPlanet.com.

Coca-Cola, which is responsible for a good number of the beverage bottles floating around America, is trying to make its containers more environmentally friendly — as is its chief rival, PepsiCo, which is promoting its plant-based PET bottle.

The latest volley in the green bottle rivalry: Coke's marketers are touring college campuses, including visiting Alabama’s Samford University and other colleges in the South to “create awareness for their PlantBottle packaging initiative,” according to the Samford Crimson.

The college marketing tour will help Coke test consumer preferences among the all-important 18-24 demo for its eco-friendly bottles in Atlanta, Birmingham, and Nashville in three different beverage sizes: 12.5, 16, and 20 ounces.Continue reading...

Coca-Cola wants you to know that, sure, it could have waited until its initial 2020 target date to guarantee that its PlantBottles would all be made from 100-percent plant-based materials. The company also wants you to know that it has moved up that timetable by several years. This week the beverage giant announced multi-million-dollar partnership agreements with three biotech companies in an initiative meant to achieve that acceleration.

"At 30 percent [plant-based materials in its bottles already], we already have a commercial solution that we've deployed in 20 countries over the past two years," Rick Frazier, Coke's vice president of commercial product supply, said on a media call on Thursday. "We could have taken several years to refine that to 100 percent [with a new process] and then started a slow rollout. But we chose to make a difference immediately," he added.

Of course, this promise doesn't mean Coke will be able to roll out 100-percent plant-based bottles to consumers by then. Or, as the New York Times notes today, that Coca-Cola will beat PepsiCo, which has espoused ambitious sustainability goals in regard to its plant-bottle technology.Continue reading...

Al Gore prepares 24-hour global warming Climate Reality live-stream event.

Angry Birds spurs 1M t-shirts and 1M plush toy sales per month for Rovio.

AT&T will use plant-based packaging for accessories as Coca-Cola's PlantBottle arrives on UK shelves.

Bank of America announces 30,000 job cuts.

Boston Globe newspaper puts up online paywall.

British American Tobacco gears up for legal battle vs. the Australian government.

Broadcom bets on web traffic for mobile with $3.7 billion NetLogic deal.

Glenn Beck says his new TV network is "not for slugs."

Google - just another ad company?

Groupon sued by its own employees.Continue reading...

PepsiCo has fired another green shot over the bow in the ongoing cola wars with competitor Coca-Cola. The company is releasing five varieties of recyclable and compostable cups in the US, following up on its March announcement of the world's first plant-based bottle.

Coca-Cola, meanwhile, is promoting its PlantBottle eco-friendly packaging, while its recent introduction of recyclable display racks.Continue reading...