Today, Coca-Cola Africa’s Operating Unit (“AOU”) and its bottling partners announced the launch of JAMII, the new Africa-focused sustainability platform.
With a goal to attract like-minded partners who would help accelerate the impact of its initiatives on ground, the platform houses the company’s new and existing sustainability initiatives.
It targets building and expanding on past achievements in three areas; water stewardship, economic empowerment of women and youth, and waste management. This will be delivered together with bottling partners, system employees and various NGO partners.
“We recognise the responsibility we have as market leaders to make a significant difference: to empower and protect the communities and the environment in which we operate. Whether it’s providing people with access to safe drinking water, creating economic opportunities for those in desperate need, or reducing the impact of our operations on the environment, we are committed to making a difference,” said Bruno Pietracci, Africa president, Coca-Cola Company.
Patricia Obozuwa, vice president of Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability of AOU added; “We chose the name JAMII, a Swahili word that means community, society, people, because it represents who we are as Africans and is aligned with our values as an organisation: our resilience, our commitment and our community spirit. Consolidating our sustainability efforts under this umbrella will allow us to strengthen our value proposition and fulfill our promise to continue to be a reliable partner for sustainable growth in Africa.”
In the area of economic empowerment of women and youth, JAMII will promote and stimulate entrepreneurship opportunities through the provision of better access to training, networks, finance and markets. To date, more than 2 million women in Africa have received financial assistance as part of the 5by20 programme.
“In the area of water management, we will replace 100% of the water used in the production of our products by efficiently managing the use of water in our operations, supporting the conservation of natural water resources and improving community access to water and adaptation to climate change.”
So far, the combined efforts of Coca-Cola Africa, the Coca-Cola Foundation and its partners have resulted in sustainable access to safe drinking water for more than 6 million people through the Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN).
Speaking on waste management, Coca-Cola Africa is committed to promoting a world without waste. Almost all Coca-Cola packaging is already recyclable with the goal of recycling the equivalent of 100% of its packaging waste by 2030.
Obozuwa added that; “Coca-Cola Africa is already forming new partnerships to facilitate the implementation of JAMII projects that will meet these goals.”
Internally, JAMII will inspire employees to make a difference in their immediate communities. Employee-nominated charities will receive grants and employee volunteerism will be encouraged. Additionally, The Coca-Cola Employee Disaster Relief Fund will support employees facing financial difficulties as a result of a natural disaster.
