Coca-Cola Beverages PH bags awards championing sustainability initiatives

Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines, Inc. (CCBPI) has won two prestigious awards for its work integrating sustainability into its operations and for leading environmental initiatives in local communities: the ESG Initiative of the Year – Philippines from the FMCG Asia Awards for the Tapon to Ipon program, and recognition as among the Top Sustainability Advocates in Asia by the Asia Corporate Excellence & Sustainability (ACES) Awards.

“Being recognized by ACES Awards and FMCG Asia as an industry leader in sustainability further highlights CCBPI’s commitment to having responsible business practices as a core aspect of our operations,” says Gareth McGeown, CEO and President of the bottling arm of Coca-Cola in the Philippines.

CCBPI is now a two-time recipient of the ACES Awards, a sought-after honor for inspiring sustainability advocates and exceptional leaders across Asia. In 2022, CCBPI was recognized as as among the Industry Champions of the Year by ACES Awards.

The ACES Awards’ Top Sustainability Advocates in Asia once again recognizes CCBPI’s sustainability journey for Coca-Cola’s global World Without Waste vision, water efficiency in operations, climate action, and energy efficiency. It has also cited CCBPI’s people-centric policies, growth opportunities, and community programs, which are testament to CCBPI being a center of excellence committed to fostering a culture of continuous learning and development.

The awards underscore CCBPI’s dedication to its core values of great people, great beverages, and great execution, toward the integration of sustainability and corporate responsibility—in both an operational capacity and CCBPI’s service to Filipinos.

A core pillar in CCBPI’s comprehensive service to local communities and the collective campaign for sustainability is the Tapon to Ipon: Basta Klaro, Panalo! Program. It has been honored as the ESG Initiative of the Year – Philippines by Retail Asia’s FMCG Asia Awards, which highlight the region’s leading companies in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. Initiatives that incorporate governance, social, and environmental practices into operations and strategy are recognized with this award.

Launched in 2021, the Tapon to Ipon program works to strengthen communities’ waste management systems through the establishment of collection and recycling centers for recyclable post-consumer PET plastic packaging, regardless of the brand. The initiative takes its name from a play on Filipino words—tapon means “to throw away” or “discard” and ipon which can mean “collect” or “earn,” which points to the incentivized nature of the program. This encapsulates the goal of encouraging consumers to not just throw away used bottles but to collect them and deposit them at the collection hubs for incentives.

Tapping traditional trade outlets or sari-sari stores to serve as collection hubs, Coca-Cola leverages its vast network of sari-sari stores to reach more communities—outlets that serve as community landmarks that help bring Coca-Cola products closer to Filipino homes.

The support of local governments has been key to the success of Tapon to Ipon. By harnessing the power of partnerships, the program has reached almost 170 cities and municipalities across the Philippines since its inception, and the number is expected to rise as CCBPI stays true to its service to local communities.

“These accomplishments have been made possible through each one of our over 10,000 associates and our outstanding sustainability programs, which encompass climate action, community engagement, our global World Without Waste vision, and our long-standing people-first commitment. Winning these awards is a truly humbling experience and will definitely push us to do more, do better, and set higher standards for ourselves,” adds McGeown, representing CCBPI associates across the Philippines in expressing gratitude for the major honors from the ACES Awards and the FMCG Asia Awards.

The two industry honors for corporate excellence and sustainability advocacy only reaffirms the Coca-Cola bottler’s core mission of creating meaningful impact for its people, the communities it operates in, and the environment.