Continuous Innovation for a World Without Waste - Coca-Cola HBC Hungary published its 2022 Sustainability Report

As a leading beverage company, Coca-Cola HBC Hungary, by supporting the Group's sustainability goals announced in 2018 and taking into account the UN's 2030 Sustainability Agenda, strives to minimize its impact on the environment throughout its operations, production and the entire supply chain and life cycle of its products, while paying the utmost attention to the aspects of biodiversity, and creating a safe, stable workplace and work community for its employees, where everyone has the opportunity for performance-based career development.

The commitment and achievements of Coca-Cola HBC are demonstrated by the fact that in 2022, the company was ranked as the world's most sustainable beverage company in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) again. Among other things, the Group has committed to reduce by 25% the calories of its sparkling soft drinks, to help collect the equivalent of 75% of primary packaging, to originate 50% of its plants’ total energy use from clean and renewable sources, to reduce its water usage by 20% in water risk areas and to involve 1 million young people in the #YouthEmpowered education program by 2025.

In line with the objectives above, Coca-Cola HBC Hungary has given account of its sustainability performance every year since 2008, according to the most widely used international framework GRI Standards, level "Core". As part of Coca-Cola HBC AG Group, the company contributes to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through its initiatives and by addressing material issues.

Results for 2022

Decreasing calorie content

By modifying existing recipes and introducing new, innovative products, the share of reduced and zero calorie drinks in the non-alcoholic beverage category of Coca-Cola HBC Hungary’s portfolio increased from 23% to 51.36% between 2010 and 2021. There is cooperation at industry level to reduce the sugar and calorie content of products, which is in line with the company's own commitments.

Towards a World Without Waste

Packaging waste is a strategically important environmental issue. Appropriate packaging is also essential for the freshness of products and for food safety aspects. With respect to packaging materials - both PET bottles and aluminium cans – the company is constantly making improvements based on the following pillars: weight reduction, the use of recycled materials and innovative packaging solutions.

With the investment of more than HUF 800 million, the company will reduce its plastic usage in Hungary by nearly 230 tons per year.

Zero Waste Tisza River program

Since the launch of the Zero Waste Tisza River program (2019), more than 200 employees of the company have participated in eight missions with the Plastic Cup volunteers, removing more than 80 tons of waste from the river. In addition to waste collection, GPS-based tracking for waste mapping has been launched, the first Kisköre River Rescue Center has been set up and plastic has taken a special form as a useful secondary raw material in prototype plastic kayaks. Under the program, a water purification container was developed by experts from PET Cup and external professionals to support water and waste management in Transcarpathia, providing clean water and preventing waste pollution.

Renewable energy sources at the bottling plants

In order to achieve a more sustainable operation, Coca-Cola HBC Hungary has kept environmental considerations in mind during 2022 as well, despite of higher energy prices. Even with the increased costs, the company did not switch to cheaper but more polluting energy sources but looked for other options. Its production plants operate using 100% green electricity, and the green operation of the factory in Zalaszentgrót is also supported by heat pumps, making the operation of the plant nearly completely carbon neutral. Even with the increase in production volume, Hungary's leading beverage company was able to save a total of 300 MWh of electricity in 2022.

Actual water use

Water is a primary component of the manufacturing processes, it is an essential raw material for the production of products, and the agricultural raw materials used in production. In 2022, the target was to use 1.72 liters of water to produce 1 liter of product, and the actual result was 1.69 liters.

#YouthEmpowered program

The main objective of Coca-Cola HBC Hungary's #YouthEmpowered program, launched in 2017, is to support the labour market integration of young people aged 16-35. The program supports participants in job seeking, career choice, career change or business start-up by providing free learning materials and organizing small group personal workshops. The number of registered participants exceeded 10 000 by 2022.

The Sustainability Report is available here.