Local volunteers help clean up historic cemetery

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Employees from Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd (CCE) in Sidcup are taking time out of their working day on Tuesday to help clean up the cemetery at St Mary's Church, Bexley.

Volunteers from the CCE site have partnered with the North West Kent Countryside Partnership (NWKCP) and will spend Tuesday clearing litter from the conservation site, which has been part of Bexley community life since 1857.

The initiative is part of CCE's  annual "Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CRS) in Action" week, which aims to inspire CCE employees  to make sustainability a way of life at work and home. Employees are encouraged to participate throughout the year - in April, the Sidcup team joined forces with environmental charity Thames 21 to help clear litter from the River Cray.

In addition,  a further team of CCE employees will spending the day clearing litter from the route around the Sidcup factory*, with the support of Bexley Council, which is providing specialist equipment.

Steve Adams, operations director at CCE Sidcup, says: "We are proud to be part of the Cemetery Clean event. St Mary's Church Yard is an important part of the local community and designated as a Site of Local Importance for nature conservation.

"It will be great to provide hands-on support to NWKCP and Bexley to help preserve the site's flora and fauna. CCE is committed to sustainability and I too will be out with the team getting my hands dirty.

"We hope to be involved in further environmental initiatives throughout 2011, and are exploring ways to work with organisations such as NWKCP to see what other activities we can lend our support to."

CCE is committed to making a positive contribution to the environment and communities in which it operates, as well as minimising the environmental impact of its products and operations.

ENDS

If you would like to attend the events on Tuesday 12th October or for further information, please contact Anouchka Burton or Elisabeth Middlemas at 3 Monkeys Communications on cocacolaenterprises@3-monkeys.co.uk / 020 7009 3100.

Notes to editors

*Edgington Way and McKilliop Way

About Coca-Cola Enterprises:
Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. is the world's third-largest independent Coca-Cola bottler. CCE is the sole licensed bottler for products of The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) in Belgium, continental France, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.

In Great Britain (GB) Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd (CCE) employs around 4,500 people across England, Scotland and Wales at manufacturing sites, regional offices and depots.

CCE is committed to minimising the environmental impact of its products and operations, with a particular focus on sustainable packaging, water stewardship, and energy and climate protection.

Six of CCE's manufacturing sites meet ISO14001 certification, the highest international standard for environmental management.  CCE has reduced its energy usage ratio across manufacturing operations in GB by 21% since 2001 and more than 99% of waste at sites is now recovered or recycled.

All of CCE's glass bottles are 100% recyclable and contain an average of 30% recycled materials; all plastic bottles are made from PET (polyethylene teraphthalate) and are 100% recyclable, and all CCE cans are made from 100% recyclable aluminium and contain around 50% recycled aluminium.  In 2007 CCE signed the Courtauld Commitment - a voluntary agreement on reducing packaging signed by 26 leading brand owners, manufacturers and retailers aiming to bring about absolute reductions by 2010.

In 2009 CCE's water use ratio was 1.42 litres of water per litre of beverages produced.  A reduction in ratio to our 2001 figures of 29.4%

CCE calculates and publishes the CO2 emissions resulting from the manufacture and distribution of all its brands, and in 2007 CCE partnered with the Carbon Trust to measure all greenhouse gas emissions embodied within selected products in the portfolio.  For further information please visit www.cokecce.co.uk.

About NWKCP:
The North West Kent Countryside Partnership was established in 1984 using funds from the then Countryside Commission (now Natural England), the Environment Agency, the County Council, and local authorities. The partnership operates in the boroughs of Bexley, Dartford , Gravesham and Sevenoaks working with local communities, landowners, statutory bodies and community organisations to conserve the area's countryside and green spaces.