More than 450 people joined as volunteers

Staff Reporter, Dhaka :  As a part of annual International Coastal Cleanup and Coca-Cola’s global initiative to achieve a ‘World without Waste’ by 2030, the Coca-Cola System in Bangladesh in partnership with Kewkradong Bangladesh, successfully conducted a coastal clean-up across the beaches of Saint Martin’s Island. The two organizations have teamed up for annual International Coastal Cleanup for the last 12 consecutive years. Kewkradong Bangladesh is the country coordinator of Ocean Conservancy, an international non-profit organization working to protect the ocean.

More than 450 volunteers participated in the 12th edition of the initiative. People from all walks of life, including locals of Saint Martin’s, and university students and professionals from all over the country, participated in the event. The event was organized in sync with the 36th annual International Coastal Cleanup® and this year the participants managed to remove more than 1800kgs of marine debris from the shores of St Martin’s. Most of the marine debris consisted of food wrappers, plastic beverage bottles, plastic bottle caps, plastic bags, plastic utensils, plastic lids etc.

Ta Duy Tung, Managing Director of Coca-Cola Bangladesh said, “Plastic pollution is a problem faced globally and it is a problem we humans created. We as an organization take the issue of plastic pollution very seriously. Among our many plastic waste management initiatives, we conduct this coastal clean-up drive. We thank Kewkradong Bangladesh and all the volunteers for their continuous effort to keep St. Martin plastic free. But this is a responsibility we all have to acknowledge and anyone visiting these areas shouldn’t pollute natural beauties. I sincerely hope, through this initiative, people will be more aware, and we will be able to achieve a world without waste.”

Muntasir Mamun, Country Co-coordinator of Ocean Conservancy said, “Thousands of tourists visit Saint Martin’s Island every year. It’s all of our responsibility to keep it clean and preserve this natural beauty. With the help of Coca-Cola, we have been driving this initiative for past 12 years but I urge everyone to take step from their own places and keep this beautiful island clean for the future generation. Only working together can help us attain a cleaner and more habitable world for everyone.”

Md. Mojibor Rahman, Chairman, Saint Martin’s Union Parishad said, “Saint Martin’s is one of the major tourist attractions of the country. This causes an excessive amount of waste around the island. The government is taking multiple initiatives to mitigate this problem but if we want to make any significant impact, private sector’s involvement meant is very much necessary. I appreciate Coca-Cola and Kewkradong Bangladesh for this praiseworthy initiative.”

Coca-Cola has been supporting the initiative of International Coastal Cleanup in Bangladesh since 2011. Over the past 12 years of this initiative, more than 5,500 volunteers collected more than 15,450 kilograms of marine debris. Through this partnership, Coca-Cola is working to clean and free oceans from pollution across the globe. Additionally, the company is engaging in multiple other initiatives to help the government tackle plastic pollution. Recently, the Coca-Cola Foundation provided to fund to SR Asia & CordAid Bangladesh for two separate projects to reduce plastic pollution in Dhaka.

Coca-Cola system in Bangladesh and The Coca-Cola Foundation has been playing a significant role in supporting Bangladesh to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations. Local implication of the company’s global initiatives such as Water Stewardship and Women Business Centre has been actively contributing to community development across their value chain.

About Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola has been operating in Bangladesh over five decades with the purpose of refreshing the world and making a difference. Our portfolio of brands include Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Diet, Sprite, Fanta, Kinley Water, Kinley Soda, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite Zero and Thums-Up Current. The Coca-Cola Bangladesh System comprises of a company-owned bottling entity, namely, International Beverages Private Limited (“IBPL”) and an independent authorized franchise bottler, namely, Abdul Monem Limited (“AML.) of The Coca- Cola Company (TCCC). Coca Cola system currently employs more than 800 people directly and indirectly provides support to over 21000 people. We seek to positively impact people’s lives through various programs to provide water, sanitation, hygiene as well as rainwater harvesting projects across the country. The “Women Business Center” is our flagship program in Bangladesh where the goal is to empower women financially, having empowered 100,000 women in the country by 2020.  For the last 10 years, as part of global commitment to create a “World Without Waste”, Coca-Cola in Bangladesh has been the proud partner of International Coastal Cleanup. Additionally, The Coca-Cola Foundation (TCCF) teamed up to develop the IWET project in partnership with the specific overarching goal of “introducing Water-Efficient Technologies” in Barind Tract. With support from TCCF, the company continues supporting communities during the pandemic, positively impacting over 50 lakh lives in Bangladesh