Coca-Cola partners with WWF and Comité ZIP du lac Saint-Pierre to restore local wetland and improve the stewardship of Quebec's waterways

Coca-Cola Canada

Announcement marks The Coca-Cola Company's first replenishment project in Canada

MONTREAL, Sept. 6, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Coca-Cola Canada today pledged $250,000 to water conservation in Quebec with a focus on the St. Lawrence watershed in order to restore the damaged St-Eugène marsh and help improve the natural flow in the St. Lawrence River. These initiatives are the Company's first water replenishment projects in Quebec and in Canada.

Today's announcement is part of Coca-Cola's long-standing commitment to water stewardship. Coca-Cola's 2020 goal is to safely return to nature and communities an amount of water equivalent to what is used in all of its beverages and their production. Coca-Cola supports water replenishment projects throughout the world.

"The future of communities, nature and business depends on responsible water management," said Christina De Toni, Public Affairs Director for Coca-Cola Canada. "At Coca-Cola, we're utilizing innovative techniques and collaborating through world-class partnerships to ensure the sustainability of this precious shared resource.This replenishment project will have a real and positive impact in the Trois-Rivières region and beyond."

Restoring the St-Eugène Marsh
Coca-Cola Canada and World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF) have partnered with Comité ZIP du lac Saint-Pierre, a regional environmental organization, to implement a restoration project for the St-Eugène marsh. Man-made structures that hinder the free flow of water and migration of fish and other species have dried part of the marsh and threatened aquatic life. Half of the investment will help to consolidate actions to improve wildlife habitat, water quality and the overall ecosystem health in the region. This project has widespread support among the local residents living near the St-Eugène marsh and officials from Trois-Rivières and the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Québec.

"The St-Eugène marsh, located in the floodplain of Lac St. Pierre, is known for its rich biodiversity but is very sensitive to the St. Lawrence river water level," says Louise Corriveau, General Director, Comité ZIP du lac St-Pierre. "The presence of wildlife species at risk and an exceptional forest ecosystem make it a valuable wetland. We're thrilled to partner with Coca-Cola to make a meaningful impact for healthy water resources in our region."

Improving water stewardship of the St. Lawrence
The remaining half of the contribution will be invested to assist WWF's efforts to advocate for restoration the natural flow in the St. Lawrence River. Ensuring healthy river flows is a critical element of restoring the health of aquatic habitat, such as the St-Eugène marsh. WWF will work to ensure that the river's regulators heed the concerns of the public and needs of the ecosystem in making long-term changes to the management of the flow of the St. Lawrence. This restoration project is part of Coca-Cola and WWF's partnership to conserve and protect freshwater resources and ecosystems in Canada.

"Past experiences have taught us that supporting engaged citizens yields the best results in local sustainability projects. Having an important partner such as Coca-Cola enables local actors to go forward with projects which will produce important and positive impacts for their community.  Today's initiative features as part of our national program on freshwater which aims at restoring a more natural circulation of water in a vital watershed which had previously been altered by development", adds Marie-Claude Lemieux, WWF-Canada's Quebec Regional Director.

Coca-Cola Canada has operated in Quebec for over one hundred years and relies on the health of local watersheds for the water it uses in bringing its brands to life. Water is critical to the health and prosperity of the communities it serves, vital to ecosystems, and key to its business sustainability. Water is not only an essential ingredient in all of Coca-Cola's beverages, but central to many of the agricultural ingredients that make up its products.

WWF Partnership
Water is fundamental to both WWF and The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC). WWF's mission is the conservation of nature and the protection of natural resources for people and wildlife. Freshwater ecosystems are a top priority in WWF's work. Over the past four years, Coca-Cola Canada and WWF have collaborated to help conserve and protect freshwater resources. With a total contribution of over $1.3 million, Coca-Cola Canada is working with WWF on a "global to local" approach to water conservation for people and nature.
Learn more at www.livepositively.ca.

About Coca-Cola Canada
Coca-Cola Canada operates in all ten provinces, employing 6,300 people in more than 50 facilities, including seven production facilities, across Canada. We offer a wide variety of non-alcoholic brands; these beverages include sparkling soft drinks, still waters, juices and fruit beverages, sports drinks, energy drinks, coffees and ready-to-drink teas. We're proud to offer some of the most popular brands in Canada including Coca-Cola®, Diet Coke®, Coke Zero®, Sprite®, Fanta®, Nestea®, PowerAde®, Minute Maid®, Dasani® and vitaminwater®.
Coca-Cola in Canada is represented by Coca-Cola Refreshments Canada and Coca-Cola Ltd.

About WWF
World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF-Canada) was founded in 1967 by Senator Alan Macnaughton, and has become one of the country's leading conservation organizations, enjoying the active support of more than 150,000 Canadians. We connect the power of a highly respected and effective global network to on-the-ground efforts across Canada, through our operations in Vancouver, Prince Rupert, St. Albert's, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, St. John's, and a growing presence in the Arctic. www.wwf.ca

About WWF's Freshwater Program
WWF-Canada is working with governments, businesses, NGOs and communities on an innovative approach to freshwater conservation that aims to meet water needs of people and nature across the country. Through the Living Rivers Initiative, WWF aims to protect and restore the health of Canada's rivers and to secure a sustainable freshwater future for all Canadians.

About Comité ZIP du lac Saint-Pierre
The Comité ZIP du lac St-Pierre (zone d'intervention prioritaire / priority intervention area) was established in 1993 as an ad hoc committee of the Corporation pour la mise en valeur du lac Saint-Pierre (COLASP). It was incorporated in 1996 as an independent entity. Its territory extends to Île aux Foins, upstream to a narrowing of the river bordered by the municipalities of Pointe-du-Lac, on the north shore, and the town of Nicolet, on the south shore. Because of its exceptional ecological resources, it was officially designated a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2001. For information on various issues and projects of the ZIP committee, you are invited to visit their website at www.comiteziplsp.org.

Image with caption: "Christina De Toni, Public Affairs Director for Coca-Cola Canada, Marie-Claude Lemieux, WWF-Canada's Quebec Regional Director and Louise Corriveau, General Director, Comité ZIP du lac St-Pierre announced today at St-Eugène's marsh an investment of $250,000 from Coca-Cola to water conservation in Quebec. (CNW Group/Coca-Cola Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120906_C4215_PHOTO_EN_17541.jpg

SOURCE: Coca-Cola Canada

For more information contact:

Miriam Lauzon
514-739-1188 ext 224 / [e-mail]

Véronique Beauchamp
514-739-1188 ext 247 / [e-mail]