The American Beverage Association (ABA) is the trade association representing the broad spectrum of companies that manufacture and distribute non-alcoholic beverages in the United States. This industry employs nearly 220,000 people nationwide and generates more than $110 billion in annual sales. Continually innovating to meet consumer demand, it offers myriad brands, flavors and packaging choices, and a wide array of beverage options – including soft drinks, diet soft drinks, ready-to-drink teas, bottled waters, water beverages, 100 percent juice, juice drinks, sports drinks and energy drinks.
A Commitment to Water Management
The American beverage industry is committed to being a leader in responsible water management and ensuring a minimal environmental impact from the production of their many beverage products. Beverage manufacturers utilize minimal amounts of water in the manufacturing process. While water is a key ingredient in all of their products, the actual manufacturing facilities use relatively little water compared to other more water intensive industries. According to the ABA, the beverage industry accounts for only about one gallon out of every 3,300 gallons withdrawn from ground or surface water sources.
The member companies of American Beverage Association are dedicated to protecting, preserving and providing a safe and affordable water supply, whether that water comes from springs or through a public utility. The ABA reports that the industry not only follows rigorous safety and quality standards at the state and federal levels, but goes beyond them. ABA members strive to be efficient industrial water users; help provide access to clean drinking water in underserved communities in which they operate; support watershed protection in water-stressed areas where they operate; and help to mobilize the international community around water challenges.
The American beverage industry is providing this leadership collectively as well as through the individual efforts of ABA member companies, including The Coca-Cola Company, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Nestlé Waters North America and PepsiCo. Some examples of these efforts include:
- The Coca-Cola Company has pledged to return to communities and to nature an amount of water equivalent to what it uses in its beverages and their production. This means reducing the amount of water used to produce its beverages, recycling water used for manufacturing processes so it can be returned safely to the environment, and replenishing water through locally relevant projects.
- Dr Pepper Snapple Group is further minimizing the amount of wastewater discharge from its facilities. In addition, the company is exploring new ways to use recovered water -- such as for plant irrigation and cooling systems – and is setting long-term goals for water conservation as part of a comprehensive sustainability strategy.
- Here in the United States, Nestlé Waters’ staff of geologists monitor and manage spring water sources for long-term sustainability for their bottled natural spring water brands. The company typically conserves hundreds of acres of surrounding land as open space to add protection to spring water sources and the biodiversity of the area. In addition, Nestlé Waters has committed $2 million toward The Nature Conservancy’s sustainable water program and land conservation in Maine.
- In 2008, PepsiCo saved more than 7.5 billion liters of water as a result of gains in water efficiency from a 2006 baseline. In addition, Pepsi and Gatorade bottling plants are conserving hundreds of thousands of gallons of water each year with innovative processes like waterless rinsing and waterless conveyor lubrication. And, a new sanitation process being implemented by Pepsi’s bottlers will reduce water consumption by another 75 million gallons a year. Pepsi’s manufacturing teams are also innovating ways to recover and recycle water that would otherwise go into the waste stream. For example, Pepsi’s largest bottler installed water recovery systems on its reverse osmosis filters that conserve close to 300 million gallons of water a year.
- In addition, the American Beverage Association is proud to be a charter sponsor of the Alliance for Water Efficiency.
Additionally, the beverage industry is sharing its best practices for water conservation with the larger global business world. For example, The Coca-Cola Company contributed a case study on its water conservation models to the Global Environmental Management Initiative. PepsiCo International participated in the World Business Council on Sustainable Development’s advisory council to develop a global water tool for business to evaluate their water use and potential risks to business operations.
For more information on industry water management practices and initiatives, visit the interactive water section of the American Beverage Association Web site at www.ameribev.org/minisites/water.