The Coca-Cola HBC Stakeholder Forum 2025

THE COCA-COLA HBC STAKEHOLDER FORUM RECENTLY BROUGHT TOGETHER EXPERT SPEAKERS, PANELLISTS AND PARTICIPANTS TO EXPLORE THE POWER OF PLACE – HOW TO MAKE AND MEASURE IMPACT LOCALLY.

Bringing together expert speakers and panellists with participants from NGOs, customers, suppliers, community organisations and the Coca-Cola System, the Forum covered:

• How to reshape social investment to deliver meaningful and sustainable impact.
• The role of place-based investment in strengthening community resilience.
•  How to meaningfully measure social impact and why it matters.
•  Strengthening local community outcomes through strategic partnerships.

In his opening remarks, Chief Executive Officer Zoran Bogdanovic said the Forum is an opportunity to connect, reflect, and look ahead together.

“Like you, we know that communities benefit when businesses, governments and civil society combine their strengths to collaborate, listen to one another and work side by side.

“The Power of Place is more than just a concept for us; it is a guiding principle for supporting communities. So, the next big question for us is: how do we now measure the impact we are having in local communities? With your help, we can learn how to make the most progress.

“We are at the start of this part of the journey. Today’s discussions and insights will help us shape, at the highest level, our next step in this journey.”

What does the Power of Place mean?

The company recognises that meaningful impact happens locally. So, its approach to social initiatives is rooted in understanding local needs and acting in partnership with communities. 

Examples of recent initiatives include the following:

• The Coca-Cola HBC Foundation that builds on the company’s long-standing tradition of community action. The Foundation enables local communities to work hand-in-hand with trusted local partners to deliver meaningful, lasting impact. Since 2024, the Foundation has donated €4.3 million, primarily to disaster relief, supporting communities impacted by devastating wildfires and floods. These efforts reflect the company’s legacy of community action and our efforts to strengthen resilience at the local level.

• This same principle of acting locally drives the company’s water stewardship efforts. In 2024, the company reported active initiatives in 16 of our 19 water-priority locations, including projects such as restoring historic city fountains in Rionero, Italy, and a major infrastructure upgrade in Bulgaria to increase water supply capacity by over one million cubic metres annually. By the end of 2025, the company will have projects in all 19 water-priority locations, ensuring that every community has access to the resources it needs.

All the ideas and insights from the event will be reported to the company’s executive leadership team to help shape upcoming sustainability initiatives. 

Key learnings from the Stakeholder Forum

• Social impact as a strategic lever: Purpose-led initiatives are now core to business strategy, driving trust, reputation, and resilience.

• Collaboration as a catalyst for change: Multi-stakeholder partnerships are essential to address complex challenges and deliver scalable, long-term solutions.

• Mutual value creation: Community programmes must deliver benefits for society and align with business priorities to ensure sustainability.

• Localisation and contextual relevance: Embedding local insights into programme design amplifies impact and fosters genuine community ownership.

• Authentic partnerships for scale: Long-term relationships built on trust and shared goals enable sustainable solutions that can grow.

• Transparency and measurement: Integrated systems for planning, monitoring, evaluation, and learning are critical for accountability and credible impact.