Policies

Public Policy Engagement

OUR APPROACH TO INFLUENCING PUBLIC POLICY

PUBLIC POLICY DISCUSSIONS TAKE MANY FORMS, ADVOCACY BEING ONE

Advocacy is a way for organisations – including NGOs and companies – to ensure that their views are heard, or at least considered by policy makers. At Coca-Cola HBC, we table our advocacy efforts mainly through trade associations, which represent companies, organisations, causes and industries. We may also engage in limited direct advocacy in circumstances where trade associations are either not active or cannot meet our requirements.

We consider it our duty and our responsibility, to make our views clear to those who have the potential to impact the laws, regulations and policies that can influence our global business.

Our public policy engagements in the 29 markets in which we operate, are governed by our Code of Business Conduct and the Anti-Bribery and Compliance handbook

The scope of our advocacy is wide, but we concentrate on the following areas:

  • Product-specific policies, such as taxes, restrictions or regulations: We contribute substantially to the local and (inter)national economy through jobs, investments, taxes and community activities. As such, we actively oppose discriminatory taxes or policies that single out certain products.
  • Environmental policy: We continuously strive to maximise energy efficiency and minimise the impact of our manufacturing and distribution infrastructure, as well as actively participate in policy discussions that have the potential to impact these areas. We support public policies that deal in a balanced way with water quality, carbon emissions, packaging, agriculture and ingredients, as well as other environmental policies and/or actions that are directly, or indirectly relevant to our business. All our direct or indirect advocacy is aligned with our commitment to achieve NetZero by 2040. We regularly review, monitor and assess our memberships to ensure that any trade associations we are members of, share the Paris Agreement goals. In case of misalignment between the climate change policy positions of trade associations with the Paris Agreement, we have a compliance framework at executive level which covers the countries we operate in.
  • Health & Nutrition: We are committed to use our brands and marketing platforms to help shape consumer choice and encourage active, healthy lifestyles. We are consistent in our approach that singling out specific industries or products is not addressing the complex challenge of obesity. Our focus is on providing healthier options across our portfolio of sparkling and still beverages and emphasising low and no-sugar/calorie choices to our consumers, offering smaller packages and reformulating our beverages. Through the European Soft Drinks Association (UNESDA) we contribute to the EU’s voluntary code of conduct for responsible food businesses.
     

Public statements of trade associations on climate policy:

PUBLIC STATEMENTS OF OTHER TAX-EXEMPTED GROUPS ON CLIMATE POLICY: