Coca-Cola Amatil has made the switch to 100 percent sustainably accredited sugar across its Australian non-alcoholic beverage portfolio. This is part of a global commitment by The Coca-Cola Company to source all priority ingredients from sustainable sources by 2020.

All sugar is now being sourced from growers who are independently accredited and following sustainable production frameworks, Coca-Cola Amatil says. Its sugar purchases are now a mix of Bonsucro and Smartcane Best Management Practice (BMP) certified sugar. 

Bonsucro and Smartcane BMP are production frameworks which aim to increase on-farm productivity while reducing both environmental and social risks.

“We’ve switched to sustainably accredited as we have responsibilities to the community on resource use and renewal. We’ve also heard customer feedback in favor of greater sustainability in the products we sell,” says Group Managing Director Alison Watkins. 

“The switch to sustainably accredited sugar is a step forward for our overall operations and also in meeting that customer demand,” she adds.

The decision means Coca-Cola Amatil’s sugar is obtained from farms with frameworks covering:

- Decreased herbicides and pesticide use per hectare;

- Prohibitions on some herbicide and pesticide use in sugar production;

- Reduced water use in sugarcane growing and milling;

- Natural systems management to protect adjacent wetlands and waterways and reduce runoff into sensitive areas such as the Great Barrier Reef;

- Support for on-farm systems management;

- Increased use of ethanol (rather than fossil fuels) in growing and milling;

- A chain of responsibility process from production to final use; and

- Independent auditing of sugar industry safety and worker training.

Wilmar Sugar Australia is a certified supplier of accredited sustainable sugar and a major supplier to Amatil.

The switch closely follows the company’s sugar reduction strategy to keep up the pace with consumer demand for low and no-sugar beverages. Coca-Cola Amatil has committed to a 10 percent reduction in sugar content (grams/100ml) across its Australia-New Zealand portfolio of sales by 2020 and a net 20 percent reduction in Australia by 2025.

“So far, we have achieved strong progress against this target with a net 5.7 percent reduction of grams of sugar per 100ml across our portfolio of sales against the 2015 baseline,” Watkins continues. “We also see good results from products like Coca-Cola Raspberry and the launch of Coca-Cola Orange No Sugar and Coca-Cola Vanilla No Sugar. Additionally, we’re leading the way in New Zealand with the world-first launch of Coca-Cola Stevia No Sugar.”

Coca-Cola volume sales in Australia grew in the second half of 2018, driven by Coca-Cola No Sugar and the ongoing consumer trend towards low- and no-sugar choices, reveals the company.

“We hear the message for consumer well-being and we are delivering with low- and no-sugar options for all our major beverage brands,” she concludes.