"TOWARD A SUSTAINABLE JAPAN - CORPORATIONS AT WORK" ARTICLE SERIES Article No. 33
Helping to Enrich the Relationship among People (Mikuni Coca-ColaBottling Co.
http://www.mikuni-ccbc.co.jp/ (Japanese) http://www.cocacola.co.jp/corporate/eko/index.html (Japanese)

The Coca-Cola Co., well-known for its global beverage brand, Coca-Cola, operates in over 200 countries around the world. Its Japan-based subsidiary, Coca-Cola (Japan) Co., provides a wide variety of soft drinks in cooperation with 14 bottlers, which are separate corporations in charge of manufacturing and selling its drinks.

Today, soft drinks are available at any time and any place in Japan. But their easy availability raises concerns about the growing environmental impacts of vending machines, cans and plastic bottles. In this article, we will feature the challenge of creating a sustainable society, from the perspective of the Coca-Cola System in Japan, which consists of Coca-Cola (Japan) and its bottlers. The article is based on an interview with one of the bottlers, Mikuni Coca-Cola Bottling Co., which is in charge of sales in Saitama, Gunma and Niigata prefectures.

Growing Interest in Environmental Issues

"Hello, everyone. We, the Coca-Cola System, are committed to enriching human relationships." Determined to revitalize itself, the company posted this message in large advertisements in national newspapers on August 1, 2005, which evoked many responses from the public. The message continues: "We live with people-to-people interaction. Through mutual understanding and cooperation, we build families and society… (omitted) Coca-Cola Japan hopes to help people not only to quench their thirst but also to enrich their mutual relationships. Please tell us what you think." In response to the message, more than 10,000 comments were received, of which about 40 percent were related to environmental issues. Coca-Cola Japan posts some of these feedbacks on its website at http://www.cocacola.co.jp/uruosu (in Japanese).

Challenge 1: Environmental Impacts and the New Value of Vending Machines

There were many opinions about vending machines. Here is one of them: "There must be a huge number of vending machines in Japan. If energy-saving equipment, such as solar-power equipment, is installed in each vending machine, or the temperature of their cooling systems is set one degree higher than usual or can be adjusted depending on surrounding conditions, the total amount of conserved energy would be enormous. What do you think about this?"

Toshio Kaneko, Manager of the Environmental Affairs Division of Mikuni Coca-Cola Bottling, says, "The environmental burdens caused by vending machines is certainly one of our most important issues to address." However, contrary to what people might expect, the number of vending machines in Japan has actually decreased by more than 15 percent over the past three years. Kaneko says, "This is a result of the industry optimizing number of vending machines in the market. Although the number used to be increasing in the midst of fierce competition between beverage manufacturers, they now seek more efficient placement of vending machines, which also benefits the environment."

Mikuni Coca-Cola Bottling has about 90,000 vending machines. In 1995, the company started to install what it calls Eco-Venders, environmentally friendly vending machines co-developed by a power company, a vending machine manufacturer, and the Coca-Cola System.

The inside temperature of Eco-Vender is set a few degrees lower than usual in the summer morning, so that its cooling system can be turned off while keeping the inside temperature cool in the afternoon, when electricity demand peaks. The company has introduced other energy-conservation measures as well, such as a new insulation material and a cooling system that chills the beverages just before they are sold. Such efforts have led to the reduction in power consumption per vending machine by more than 50 percent in the past 15 years.

As a result of these measures, the total power consumption of all the company's vending machines in 2005 is expected to decrease by about 30 percent compared to 2000. In addition, the company has started replacing all of its vending machines with ozone-friendly CFC-free models, and plans to complete the process by 2020.

What is the next issue to be addressed? "We would like to propose a new value of vending machines in society," says Kaneko. For sure, a network of vending machines offers a certain type of infrastructure, since vending machines are located wherever people walk by. Mikuni Coca-Cola Bottling has put stickers on vending machines showing the local address, so people can verify their location when they report a crime or incident to the police, for example. It also has equipped vending machines in public places with message boards that can display critical information in case of an emergency. In ways such as these, the company has started new approaches, ahead of other companies, to reduce environmental impacts and provide additional value for people and local communities.

Challenge 2: Seeking the Perfect Container

Containers are another issue that arose in consumer comments. "Which is more ecological, plastic or glass bottles?" "Please stop using plastic bottles and return to the glass bottle recycling system you used to have. I think chilled drinks in glass bottles tasted better. "

Mikuni Coca-Cola Bottling supplies the drinks (and their thirst-quenching "service") to customers in various types of container materials, depending on the kind of beverages they contain, such as aluminum cans, steel cans, glass bottles, paper cups and plastic bottles. What is the ideal container? "Drinking with your own cup is the most ecological way, but practically-speaking, in most cases we have to provide our products in other containers. And we can't solve the problem by just changing containers," says Kaneko.

For example, returnable bottles are superior to other containers in terms of recycling. But returnables still involve environmental impacts through the production, washing, and transportation of bottles. And the further the market is from the factory, the greater the amount of energy needed for transportation.

It is necessary to grasp the whole lifecycle of containers, from the viewpoint of reducing environmental impacts. For example, one approach being considered is the use of plastic "preformed" containers, which are one seventh the size of conventional containers, until they are expanded in the factory just before being filled with the beverage. They can reduce the amount of energy that would otherwise be needed to transport "a large amount of air" in new containers.

The company is working on the integrated management of container recycling, with the aim of total optimization. The selection and management of recycling companies, which used to be conducted separately at each location, needs to be conducted collectively. Experience gained in balancing and minimizing environmental burdens and costs can be applied to other cases. Thus the company is seeking to optimize overall efficiency, not just in containers or other aspects, but in the total flow.

Challenge 3: Reducing Environmental Impacts in Society Overall

Tackling these two challenges has resulted in enabling Mikuni Coca-Cola Bottling to carry out its unique environmental activities, that is, advising customers how to be more environmentally friendly. While other beverage companies struggle to encourage their customers to install more vending machines, Mikuni Coca-Cola Bottling advises its customers to reduce the number of the machines by two-thirds, and also suggests effective ways of recycling beverage bottles. The company thinks that offering customers better service can reduce environmental impacts. Also, for customers, more efficient operations will lead to cost reduction. As part of its annual environmental targets, the company sets targets on how many "environmental suggestions" each department will offer to customers and then carries them out.

"Customers first need to invest when they switch to new vending machines, but they are satisfied in the long run," says Kaneko. "Recently we have received more requests from our sales division to provide environmental information or to accompany their people on sales calls." The company's efforts help customers alleviate environmental impacts and contribute to higher profits for both customers and the company itself. The company sees these as progress toward coexistence between the environment and the economy.

In modern societies, have we sacrificed something in return for the convenience of having beverages at any place and any time? For instance, doesn't the increase in the number of vending machines result in higher energy use and carbon dioxide emissions? In fact, do we really need cans and plastic bottles for beverages? One company working alone cannot find the all answers, and there are no predetermined answers.

The company's message mentioned at the head of this article continues like this: "Our activities should be pursued through human-to-human interactive communication rather than our unilateral actions. We also hope each activity will help enrich human relations and bear fruits. These are what help shape a more affluent society." Mikuni Coca-Cola Bottling believes people-to-people communication creates trust, and it tries to promote environmental activities by establishing that trust. It has high expectations for its efforts to pursue an ideal business role in society.

(Staff writer Kazunori Kobayashi)

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