Coca-Cola Nigeria has said it partnered with non-profit organisations to reduce plastic pollution across the country.
In a statement on Thursday, it said it would be doing more to promote environmental sustainability as part of efforts to commemorate World Environment Day.
It stated that it had introduced initiatives to protect the environment through its philanthropic arm, the Coca-Cola Foundation.
Coca-Cola said that it supported the Statewide Waste and Environmental Education Foundation to launch the Eko Beach Race 2021 themed ‘A race against plastic pollution.’
The event had in attendance 2,000 youths, students and sports enthusiasts who participated in a marathon race and beach clean-up.
SWEEP Foundation’s President, Obuesi Philips, stated at the event that it “was geared towards recognising the growing contributions of sport to the realisation of societal development.”
The drink maker also partnered with the Aid for Rural Education Access Initiative to host the “Recycle and Win” festival.
It included community outreach and clean-up programmes in Kwara, Kano, Kaduna, Yobe and Oyo States. Coca-Cola said that 10 tons of plastic bottles were recovered through the process.
The Director, Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability at Coca-Cola, Nwamaka Onyemelukwe, urged Nigerians to adopt more eco-friendly practices while emphasising the urgency of the current global situation.
Onyemelukwe stated, “At Coca-Cola, we recognise there is a packaging waste problem globally and especially in Nigeria, which is why we pioneered the World Without Waste initiative to engineer innovative solutions to tackle this challenge.
“World Environment Day presents an opportunity for us to act on this mandate as seen by the number of environmental sustainability initiatives we have supported in collaboration with local implementing partners.”
