Coca-Cola fostering environmental conservation and awareness amongst youth

Saturday, 20 September 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

In a continued effort towards creating a positive impact on communities, Coca-Cola Sri Lanka organised a number of initiatives to preserve and conserve the environment by empowering the youth. The company organised its annual inter-school PET collection drive as part of the ‘Give Back Life’ project that was begun in 2008 and also partnered with the Biyagama Educational Division for the third consecutive year to organise an inter-school debating competition on the occasion of World Environment Day.

Reiterating its commitment to sustainability by highlighting the importance of recycling, Coca-Cola donated PET collection bins to 28 schools in Biyagama in 2013 and organised a PET bottle collection competition among the school students. The initiative focused on teaching students the importance of throwing waste in dustbins, recycling waste, and not hampering the environment. Coca-Cola Far East Limited Country Manager Abhishek Jugran, Country Supply Chain Manager Indika Perera and SHEQ Scientific & Regulatory Affairs Manager Ruwan Kumara gave away prizes to the schools that collected the most amount of PET bottles (in kilograms) over the past year. The initiative focuses on developing a sense of responsibility within students, so they learn the importance of the environment and sustainability. Coca-Cola Sri Lanka has begun the same competition in the Kaduwela district as well this year where they have donated 33 bins. Furthering the cause of the environmental conservation, the company also organised a series of debates with the Biyagama Educational Division to commemorate World Environment Day.

Empowering the students to debate and discuss on environmental issues, 16 schools from the division participated in the competition. Coca-Cola’s World Environment Day Interschool Debating Competition was inaugurated by Zonal Education Director Kanchana Hathurusinghe in the presence of Country Manager Kapila Welmillage and Country HR Manager Nilanthi Jayatillake, both from Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Limited. In the 1AB category, the first place winner was Visaka Balika Vidyalaya and the runner-up was Daranagama Rajasinghe Prathamika Vidyalaya. In the second category, Siyamabalapewatte Kanishta Vidyalaya emerged as the winning school and Bollegala Maha Vidyalaya was named the runner-up. These initiatives create a platform for the youth to not only share ideas and thoughts, but also a platform for them to learn new ideas and find solutions to the environmental issues facing the country and the world.

Jugran says, “Coca-Cola believes in supporting local communities and being a responsible member of society. All our efforts are aimed towards protecting the environment and working to create long term sustainable impacts in the communities in which we operate. We are working towards empowering the youth and we believe that it is the future generation who will lead the debate and dialog on the conservation and protection of our environment. These initiatives not only enable us to minimise waste and the impact on the environmental, but also inspires the youth to actively participate, engage and learn about recycling and environmental conservation.”