Coca-Cola Community Involvement & Sponsorships in Colombia

For more than 80 years that we have been in Colombia, The Coca-Cola Company and our independent bottlers have been engaged at international, national and community level, in supporting programs that aid children, promote education, and bring relief to victims of the country’s ongoing internal conflict or civil strife.

Community Involvement

Dividendo por Colombia – Our Company, with eight other companies including Panamco (today, Coca-Cola FEMSA), created a non-profit organization that has contributed with more than US$ 1,250,000 towards educational programs for underprivileged Colombians. More than 700 employees of the Coca-Cola system are donors of the Program.

Each year a large portion of students cannot continue their education because of the violence in their communities. Theses students normally move to larger cities. There they have a second opportunity to catch up in a safer place with the support of a special program.
 
Dividendo for Colombia gives all the support that will permit these students to reintegrate to the normal school pensum.

The Coca-Cola Company is part of the Board of Directors of Corporación Día del Niño.

Coastal Clean Up

Since 1998, we have sponsored a local version of the Coastal Cleanup event created by the Center for Marine Conservation, of which our Company is patron.

Puerto Colombia/Sabanilla - Puerto Colombia and adjacent beaches have a great percentage of trash that comes from the Magdalena River, which takes all organic and inorganic waste from Barranquilla.  Over 300 students and volunteers, supported by the Harbor Master’s Office, the Mayor’s Office of Puerto Colombia, Horizonte Foundation and Opepa Foundation, collected 2.4 tons of trash.

Santa Marta/ Rodadero/ Taganga - 120 divers assisted by the Minister of Environment, the Mayor’s Office, foundations Sila Kangama and Colombia Marina as well as local institutions, removed 1540.5 kilos of trash. Over 300 students contributed by cleaning the Taganga, Los Cocos and Rodadero beaches.

Cartagena and Rosario Islands - Groups of youngsters from public schools led by Fundación Marina, with the support of environmental promoters and cleaning companies, were able to remove 421.7 kg of trash. By the end 1.6 tons were collected at Cartagena and Rosario Islands.

Riohacha - With the help of rakes and wheelbarrows, the people living and visiting the place, found organic wastes, plastic, glass and metals that demonstrate the lack of culture. A total of 73.5 kilograms were found in trash.

Sponsorships

National Recycling Campaigns  

“Reduce, Recycle, Reuse and Recover” is the motto for a sustainable alternative to integrate a solid waste management program in Colombian schools, seeking mind set changes and implement a NO WASTE culture.

Several activities have been developed to support this program which involves around 300 teachers, a school radio, waste classified-collection centers, table games, multimedia programs, printed ads and art, environmental committees and books, with the effort of 600 young school leaders.

Monitoring, evaluation and continuous dialogue between the different actors involved in the RE Alternative: DAMA, The Coca-Cola Company, Tetra Pak, and Horizontes Corporation; who made the project Cultura Re-Responsabilidad ambiental. Thanks to a continuous management and the technical and financial support of Fondo para la Acción Ambiental y la Niñez, who are joining to help build a sustainable city.

Culture, Re-environmental responsibility during years 2005-2007 worked with educational institutions hoping to hit 51,000 students and shape three areas of environmental liability led by schools with the participation of various social actors.

Corporación Dia del Niño

The Coca-Cola system sponsors in Barrancabermeja, Santander a school (“Ludoteca”) were children gather after school with their parents and learn rules of behavior by playing games. The Ludoteca is located in an underprivileged area of the city.

The Lutodeca is integrated with other community social services such as judges of peaces, physiological support for families, medical care, etc. and is part of an experiment to bring strong presence of the government to vulnerable communities.

The Coca-Cola Company is also part of the Board of Directors of Corporación Día del Niño.

Water and Sanitation Program for displaced Families

Provide 600 displaced families participating in our emergency shelter component with water and sanitary facilities through a variety of technical solutions: construction of bathrooms, connection to public water and sewage lines, construction of septic tanks and dispersion fields or dry anaerobic septic systems, water storage tanks and filtration/purification systems.

Displaced families in Colombia face enormous hardships following their forced departure from their often rural communities to urban areas. This project, through the provision of decent shelter and sanitation resolves their immediate humanitarian needs and facilitates their integration into their new communities.

This Emergency Shelter Program for Colombia IDPs has operated permanently for the past three years with the financing of Colombian and U.S. governments, complemented by resources from local NGOs, the private sector and municipal and departmental governments. This broad alliance was formed to respond for the need for decent housing, water and sanitation services to Colombia´s most vulnerable population.

Fundación Ideas para la Paz

It is an independent think-tank supported by the business community. Its mission is to contribute ideas and proposals to help overcome the internal conflict in Colombia. Since 1999, FIP has been committed to support peace negotiations, and this will continue to be once of its priorities. The internal conflict in Colombia will necessarily end through one or more sets of negotiations which will need adequate preparation and technical assistance if they are to succeed.

With the support of FIP, the private/public sector, Catholic Church, Human Rights NGOs, Unions and the government are working  in a set of principals regarding human rights. This group - were CCSC makes part - is working in a set of Voluntary Principles to build trust and respect amongst the civil society.

El Centro Colombiano de Responsabilidad Empresarial (CCRE)

The CCRE was established in 1994 by initiative and support of Fundación Social and the Inter American Foundation-IAF.

The CCRE works in three major areas: research and analysis in the field of corporate social responsibility and ethics, promotion of best social responsibility practices and topics related to corporate social responsibility and ethics trough seminars, monthly bulletins, and special events and Services to support companies and organizations in all their activities related to corporate social responsibility and corporate ethics.
The Coca-Cola Servicios de Colombia (“CCSC”) is part of the Board of Directors of CCRE. CCSC sponsors through out the year several activities regarding CSR seminars. Part of this initiative is to inspire other companies to get involved more directly with CSR activities.

Junior Achievement

In 1998, the company helped creating the local branch of Junior Achievement – Colombia Emprendedora. Through this Company-funded organization, employees have volunteered to give classes in more than 50 public and private schools in Bogotá, teaching children about entrepreneurship and ethical business principles. As part of our engagement we participate as well in an activity called “Partners for one Day” were we host students during one day and make them part of a hold day of work visiting plants and being part of strategic meetings were they get to know what it is a day like at The Coca-Cola Company.

Juan Bosco Obrero

CCSC in Colombia is helping reintegrate demobilized youths to civil society. Coca Cola works with the Juan Bosco Obrero Center in Colombia through grants channeled to education.

Coca-Cola System aims at providing demobilized youths with the technical skills that will enable them to obtain formal jobs, thus preventing them from returning to illegal guerrilla or paramilitary groups.

Coca Cola system works with the Juan Bosco Obrero Center in Colombia by granting financial resources needed for the training of vulnerable social groups, among which are demobilized youths. The project establishes that half of these trained youths must belong to the demobilized groups, while the other half can be part of any scarce resource community.

As of June 2007, 108 students had graduated as technicians in mechanical maintenance and currently 75 students from Ciudad Bolivar in Bogotá are receiving work-oriented training in the area of gastronomy, out of which 11 are demobilized youths who responded to the invitation.

Approximately 45,500 people have become part of the demobilized in Colombia since 2002, while 19,700 of these individuals have already undergone reintegration processes.