The Coca-Cola Co.’s focus on sustainability has led to several environmental initiatives by Coca-Cola FoodService to help restaurant operators go green and improve their bottom line.
Called “Refreshing Our Planet,” the FoodService program provides tips for restaurant operators to reduce water, energy and waste.

Water Reduction

While water is a major ingredient in most food and all beverages, a significant portion of the water used by foodservice establishments can be reduced via efficiency measures. A restaurant can use up to 5,800 gallons of water per day* -- equivalent to two months home water use for the average person.** Some tips to help reduce water use in foodservice establishments:

* Pre-soak utensils and dishes in basins of water, rather than rinsing in running water. Also, only run full trays through warewashers.
* Repair water leaks immediately. A leaking toilet can waste 200 gallons per day, and a hole 1/16 of an inch in diameter in a water line can waste 822 gallons of water per day.
* Install low flow pre-rinse spray values, low flow bathroom fixtures, waterless urinals and/or smart irrigations systems to reduce water usage.

Energy Reduction

According to the National Restaurant Association, the average restaurant spends 2.5 to 3.4 percent of total revenues on utility expenses. Of the $10 billion per year the U.S. restaurant industry spends on energy, experts say 80 percent is wasted due to inefficiency***.  Some tips to help with energy reduction:
* Turn lights off in day-lit areas and outside during daylight hours.

* Turn off door heaters on reach-in refrigeration. These heaters should be used only if condensation appears around the door.
* By replacing just twenty 100-watt incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs you can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 8,180 lbs. per year.

Waste Reduction

Foodservice establishments generate significant metal, glass, plastic, organic and corrugated waste. Trash collection is a substantial and rapidly increasing cost to operators. By diverting waste from landfill disposal you not only can help the planet, but your bottom line as well. Here are a few tips to help with waste reduction:

* Implement a recycling program for glass, plastic, metal and paper. Though they’re only a smaller part of total waste, recycling these materials along with food waste has helped some foodservice providers recycle over 90 percent of their waste.
* Partner with a grease renderer who recycles grease or converts it into bio-diesel.
* Request from vendors a list of recyclable and/or compostable alternatives to disposable items you currently purchase.
* Remove the inner bag from Coca-Cola bag-in-box packaging and recycle the cardboard.

Coca-Cola FoodService is rolling out high yield syrups (HYCS) for its top three brands -- Coca-Cola Classic®, Diet Coke® and Sprite® -- that will significantly reduce packaging and shipping requirements while providing the same great taste consumers expect.  After extensive development and testing, Coca-Cola FoodService was able to increase the concentration of fountain syrups without changing the taste, packaging or equipment systems.  When fully implemented system-wide, HYCS could eliminate the annual equivalent of . . .

. . . 900,000 truck delivery miles – 2,800 vehicles from the road,
. . . 2.6 million cubic feet of waste,
. . . 28 million pounds of C02 emissions, and close a 100-megawatt coal power plant for a week.

In 2007, Coca-Cola FoodService started an initiative to convert its 825 sales force vehicles to hybrid cars.  During the initial launch of the program, Coca-Cola FoodService estimated $1MM annually in fuel savings, based upon gasoline prices at $2.65 per gallon.  With average gasoline prices far above, that mark, the savings have only increased.  Last year, 365-375 hybrid vehicles were put into service, Approximately 250 are planned for 2008 with the balance due to change in 2009.

Coca-Cola FoodService
Atlanta