Global beverage companies encourage their suppliers to adopt renewable energy

Global beverage companies representing water, soft drink and adult beverage brands including Coca-Cola, Guinness, Johnny Walker and Svedka Vodka have launched a coalition to encourage their supply chains to convert to renewable energy. 

The effort, REfresh Alliance, has already invited 300 companies to join. Participants could include packaging companies, liquor stores and other retailers, bottlers, restaurants, pubs and bars, distributors and transportation partners. 

The launch members are Bacardi, BlueTriton, Carlsberg Group, Coca-Cola, Constellation Brands, Diageo, Heineken, Molson Coors, Pernod Ricard, and Whyte & Mackay. The program is being managed by energy services company Enel X.

There is a fee to join REfresh Alliance, but that was not disclosed. The coalition, through a spokesperson, also declined to provide the total number of suppliers its first member companies use, citing competition laws. 

Some of the individual companies share those numbers. Diageo, for example, has more than 30,000 direct suppliers. They account for about two-thirds of its Scope 3 emissions. Coca-Cola’s network includes more than 225 individual bottlers. More than 90 percent of its footprint lies in Scope 3.

REfresh Alliance will support suppliers by offering education and services for offsetting greenhouse gas emissions, including purchases of environmental attribute certificates for renewable energy. It will also orchestrate power purchase agreements on their behalf, the coalition said.

Source: Diageo

“I know from my experience across the Coca-Cola system that supporting our supply partners is a key part of our sustainability action — and that encouraging them to transition to renewables is one of the most impactful things we can do to help decarbonize their businesses, and to do the same in ours,” said Ralf Peters, chief procurement officer of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and chairman of the Coca-Cola Cross Enterprise Procurement Group.

REfresh Alliance is the latest initiative that brings together high-profile companies from across an industry to help shared suppliers reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Two other examples are Energize, funded by pharmaceutical companies including AstraZeneca, and Catalyze, launched in July 2023 by Intel and Applied Materials.

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