Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Indonesia, one of the largest bottlers and distributors of non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages in Indonesia, is investing in sustainable development.

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Indonesia is one of the leading beverage bottling, packing, sales and distribution of the nation’s most loved brands. It is a subsidiary of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners following the completion of Coca-Cola Amatil and Coca-Cola European Partners acquisition process in May 2021.

Through the acquisition process, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners has become the world’s largest Coca-Cola bottler and one of the leading FMCG companies in the world. The company now employs over 33,000 people, serving approximately 2 million customers in 26 countries.

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Indonesia operates eight manufacturing facilities in Sumatra, Java, and Bali, employing a direct workforce of more than 8,000 people. As the region’s beverage powerhouse, the company provides consumers with a complete range of refreshing beverages that includes sparkling water, juice, tea, dairy, isotonic drinks and coffee.

“With our employees working as one team, we operate our best-in-class manufacturing and logistic infrastructure to deliver happiness every day for our consumers, our customers, our partners, our communities and our shareholders across the nation,” says Kadir Gunduz, Former President Director of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Indonesia & PNG.

Mr Kadir Gunduz has shaped the company from its first years. Formerly appointed as the President Director of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Indonesia in November 2013, he initiated, sponsored and led a comprehensive, whole-of-business strategy that transformed the business in Indonesia, delivering record volumes and profit for the region. Under his leadership, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Indonesia has been transformed into a diverse, highly engaged and highly capable operation with a heightened focus on safety and sustainability.

Strong in partnerships

The company has been on its digital transformation journey since 2015, focused on driving the digital ecosystem in Indonesia in support of Making Indonesia 4.0.

In March 2020, as part of the business’s broader strategy to digitize its operations, a strategic investment was made in Kargo Technologies – an Indonesian freight logistics start-up that integrates shippers and logistics providers into a single marketplace, aiming to digitize Indonesia’s freight logistics industry by leveraging technology to drive efficiency, transparency and accountability. Kargo Technologies will enable Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Indonesia to optimise its logistics capability by increasing productivity and efficiency on some of its key trucking routes.

Kadir Gunduz commented: “Our investment in Kargo Technologies supports our ambition to be a leading player in the digital ecosystem here in Indonesia. Technology has played a crucial role in our transformation, and especially so in the last decade. In achieving our commitment and targets, we invested in state-of-the-art systems and technology, supporting our nation-wide operations.”

“We are also focussed on developing our people and embedding a disruptive and breakthrough problem-solving culture, for example through introducing the artificial intelligence and virtual reality experience. We constantly ensure that our teams, both on-field and in the back office, are equipped with the best tools,” he affirms.”

Last year, the company invested in two more start-ups: Yummy Corp, the largest cloud kitchen management company in Indonesia; and Wahyoo, an Indonesia-based mom and pop restaurant solutions provider.

Moving to the circular economy

Since its early days, the company been committed to making a distinct and positive contribution to the environment, and over the years has initiated many programmes to support the four pillars of the sustainability framework: our people, wellbeing, the environment and our community.

Reducing waste, plastics use, increasing energy efficiency and switching to alternative fuels have been amongst the top priorities, supported by substantial investment. This includes the plan to build, together with its long-term packaging partner Dynapack Asia (Dynapack), a state-of-the-art bottle to bottle-grade polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling facility in Indonesia.

Mr Gunduz said: “This joint venture represents a real environmental step-change in our move towards a more sustainable approach to plastic and the circular economy by bringing low-quality PET waste back to virgin-quality, food-grade PET, which also echoes The Coca-Cola Company’s ‘World Without Waste’ vision. It is a significant step towards Coca-Cola Europacific Partners becoming self-sustaining in the plastic materials we use, ensuring a closed-loop for plastic beverage packaging in Indonesia as a whole.”

He added that the facility will start its operation in 2022 and has the capacity to reduce the amount of new plastic resin the company uses by an estimated 25,000 tons each year. It will also help to stimulate the recycling industry and accelerate the improvement in the recycling rate, to support Indonesia’s National Action Plan in achieving a 70% reduction in the nation’s marine plastic debris by 2025.

Solar power

In September 2020 the company achieved another milestone within its efforts towards sustainability and officially inaugurated the largest solar panel roof installation at a production facility in South-East Asia, panels covering 72,000 square metres and valued at USD 5.8 million. The panels will generate 9.6 million kWh of electricity per annum which is enough to cut carbon emissions by 8.9 million kilograms a year.

The initiative is part of the company’s commitment to supporting the government’s pledge to limit global warming and reduce emissions, by obtaining at least 60 percent of energy needs from renewable and low-carbon sources.

“Sustainability is at the core of our business model, from the way we source raw materials and manufacture products to the way we communicate through brands and manage our people,” Mr Gunduz said. “We have set targets for the use of renewable and low-carbon energy, and reducing the emissions intensity associated with ‘the drink in your hand’. One of the latest investments is this solar panel roof installation.”

This initiative supports the Indonesian government’s ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the country by 29% the equivalent of 314 million tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030, as well as our contributions towards a number of sustainable development goals.

“We believe that renewable energy is one of the most effective ways to combat climate change and to prevent the worst effects of rising temperatures, in line with the efforts made by the government for this country. With this, we will be able to leave a positive legacy and ensure the minimal impact on the environment and the world we live in,” Mr Gunduz said.