Building on the success of WWF-UK, Coca-Cola Great Britain and Coca-Cola European Partners’ 2012-14 project, which saw more than 280 million litres of water replenished, the three organisations have agreed to extend their partnership for another three years.

The new partnership aims to provide a thriving future for England’s rivers, by scaling up the impacts of agriculture on water and by promoting sustainable farming to protect England’s unique chalk streams.

It will support farmers in two chalk stream catchments to improve the way they manage their land and reduce the impacts of production on the freshwater environment, while, in turn, the improved practises will aid the resilience of agricultural supply chains. These exemplar projects will be showcased to drive further collective action by communities, the Government and other businesses.

“We believe that when it comes to big issues such as water we can make a much bigger difference if government and NGOs, business and communities, work together,” said Glyn Davies, Executive Director of Global Programmes at WWF-UK. “Water is a priority for both WWF and Coca-Cola and by joining forces we can combine our expertise, skills and influence to address critical water challenges with local communities and achieve the best results.”

The three-year partnership will convene and communicate with supply chain actors to support widespread adoption of water sensitive farming and promote the positive role that businesses have to play in water stewardship.

“Water is fundamental to our business, which is why we’re working with WWF to ensure we use it in a responsible and sustainable way. Over the last three years, we returned more than 286 million litres of water to the ecosystem exceeding our target by over 36 million litres,” said Jon Woods, General Manager, Coca-Cola Great Britain.

“Our mission is to ‘inspire sustainable soft drinks choices’ to our customers and consumers. Water is the main ingredient in our products and is necessary for cooling, washing and rinsing processes in our manufacturing plants,” said Leendert den Hollander, General Manager, Coca-Cola European Partners, said. “Given that 97 per cent of the drinks that Coca-Cola sells in Great Britain are made within its borders, our business is determined to use water in a responsible, sustainable way. And our work with WWF supports that mission.”

Globally, WWF and The Coca-Cola Company have worked together since 2007 to conserve priority river basins around the world, and integrate sustainability into the company’s operations worldwide.