How business affects the economy and society on the example of Coca-Cola

Yesterday, May 13, the Sustainability Report of The Coca-Cola System in Ukraine in 2020 was presented. The report was prepared with the participation of Baker Tilly Consulting according to the standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and the report includes research socio-economic impact.

The Sustainability Report of The Coca-Cola System in Ukraine for 2020 was presented on May 13th at the Coca-Cola plant in Kyiv region. The presentation was attended by Chargé d'Affaires of the United States in Ukraine, Kristina Kvien, Head of the Office of the National Investment Council under the President of Ukraine Olga Magaletska, Deputy Minister of Economy, Trade and Rural Development Economy of Ukraine - Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka. A brief overview of the enterprise was conducted for them.

According to the study, in 2020 the effect of the Coca-Cola System for the economy of Ukraine amounted to 11.3 billion hryvnias. This amount is a contribution to the nominal GDP of Ukraine and is 0.27% of GDP. It includes value added that is generated directly on Coca-Cola, as well as value added that arises as a result of Coca-Cola's activities in the Ukrainian market. Every hryvnia of added value by the Coca-Cola System generates at least 10 hryvnias in the economy as a whole. Such a significant multiplier effect of the activity is due to the fact that Coca-Cola plays an important role in the local market. Thus, in 2020, 71% of the purchasing budget of Coca-Cola System was spent on local suppliers.

In addition, Coca-Cola has a significant impact on employment. It was found that each job in the Coca-Cola System supports 18 jobs in the economy of Ukraine, which is 25,468 permanent jobs in total.

In addition to the economic effect, The Coca-Cola System’s contribution to overcoming the effects of COVID-19 in 2020 is significant. Over 8 million hryvnias were allocated to provide vital equipment to seven hospitals across Ukraine with the support of The Coca-Cola Foundation. In addition, over 200 000 bottles of water and beverages were donated to patients, doctors and the vulnerable groups. Employees of The Coca-Cola System also contributed as volunteers on the Governmental COVID-19 hotline. Coca-Cola volunteers processed 2 500 requests from citizens, which is 63% of the total number of calls during the project period.

The Coca-Cola System in Ukraine continues to adhere to clear strategic priorities in the social sphere: to implement the World Without Waste strategy, to invest into youth development programs and to strengthen the role of women in our society.

To date, despite the lack of necessary legislation on extended producer responsibility, Coca-Cola has made a voluntary commitment to collect and recycle packaging. Following the results of 2020, 43% of the packaging released on the market by the Coca-Cola System, amounting to 9297 tons, was collected and sent for recycling. All packaging of the Coca-Cola products is recyclable.

During 2017-2020, the company is implementing the project “I can!” which was attended by 300 thousand Ukrainian women. 1 million 440 thousand hryvnias were received by women entrepreneurs for the development of their own business in the form of grants.

Coca-Cola is a strategic partner of the educational free online platform for preparation for external evaluation exams (ZNO) - iLearn. The number of graduates who studied on the platform during 2020 increased 3 times and has reached 113 thousand.