KENYA – Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) in Kenya has invested US$2 million to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant at its Equator Bottlers Ltd plant in Kisumu.
Water for use at the Equator Bottlers Ltd plant is sourced from Lake Victoria and undergoes a series of primary and secondary treatments to achieve the potable water quality standard required for industrial use and human consumption.
Meanwhile, water from the manufacturing process is treated through the wastewater treatment plant before being discharged.
The upgrade, including civil works, related equipment and accessories, will treat water from the manufacturing process to consistently meet company specifications and water quality requirements, while recovering more portable water and allowing sludge to be disposed of in solid form.
The investment follows a detailed concept and feasibility study which was conducted in 2021, benchmarking the Kisumu plant against global best practice water and waste treatment plants.
“CCBA, together with The Coca-Cola Company, are leaders in using water responsibly in our operations and giving it back.
“We continue to manage water resources through projects that reduce water use in our operations, protect local water resources and provide safe, clean drinking water to communities in need,” said Xavier Selga, managing director CCBA Kenya.
CCBA has developed a robust sampling and testing plan for wastewater for quality assurance and to enable timely interventions for continuous improvement.
The Kisumu Water and Sewerage Company, Water Resource Authority and NEMA regularly monitor the quality of this effluent through sampling, testing and surveillance visits.
Across all its facilities, CCBA conducts thorough assessments of local water resources and put water protection plans in place so that its presence doesn’t harm communities’ vital water resources.
The company has adopted the ISO 14001 environmental management system at all its plants across Kenya in line with its commitment to conduct all its business activities responsibly, with due regard to environmental impact and environmental sustainability.
“At CCBA, we are a proud industry leader in developing increasingly sustainable ways to manufacture, distribute and sell our products.
“We use our industry leadership to be part of the solution to achieve positive change in the world and to build a more sustainable future for our planet,” said Selga.
CCBA acquired Equator Bottlers Limited in 2017 and has made extensive efforts to maintain and improve its performance.
Focusing on its operations across the region, CCBA, is celebrating six years of investment and shared opportunity in Africa.
The bottler was born through a merger between the Southern and East Africa bottling operations of the non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages businesses of The Coca-Cola Company, SABMiller plc and Gutsche Family Investments in 2016.
With a capital investment of about US$1.4 billion since 2017, CCBA has created significant positive economic impact throughout the markets where it operates in.
CCBA’s production capacity has increased to approximately 122 lines, theoretically capable of turning out 1.5-billion-unit cases a year, reaching more than 600,000 outlets through an extensive distribution network including over 1,000 third party strategic distributors and 1,800 branded trucks.
Its African footprint now encompasses South Africa, Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, Mozambique, Comoros, Mayotte, Zambia, Botswana, Eswatini and Lesotho.
Liked this article? Subscribe to Food Business Africa News, our regular email newsletters with the latest news insights from Africa and the World’s food and agro industry. SUBSCRIBE HERE
