While The Coca-Cola Company and World Wildlife Fund have partnered on conservation efforts for many years, July 9 marks a special anniversary for us. Last year, on this very day, we announced a renewal of our global partnership through 2020. This phase of our partnership is helping address the natural resource challenges impacting fresh water.

Happy Anniversary, partner!



River

To celebrate our anniversary, we are issuing our 2013 Annual Review, featuring progress across the partnership focus areas of freshwater conservation, environmental performance, valuing nature and the convening of partners.

The content covers the work underway to help ensure healthy, resilient freshwater basins in 11 key geographies, with snapshot stories of projects in the Mesoamerican Reef and the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo. We share progress on efforts to improve the environmental performance across the Company’s value chain, such as identifying key agricultural ingredients for the Company to sustainably source by 2020, and continued water-use efficiency improvements.



River at dusk

In addition, we highlight a collaborative research project to examine the potential environmental benefits from the global adoption of sustainable production standards. This project will help inform how the public and private sectors set policies and make better sourcing decisions. And, we demonstrate steps taken to convene influential partners to solve global environmental challenges, including a World Water Week event in Stockholm where we engaged with influential stakeholders to explore opportunities for engagement toward common goals.



For the first year of a new partnership, full of planning and structuring—all necessary components of a successful partnership—we are pleased with our accomplishments. And, what better present is there to give each other on this day than progress for our planet?

The only compatible gift we can think of is a promise … a promise of continued progress together.

From this day on, we will continue to celebrate progress, but also promise to constantly encourage each other to find ways to achieve even more. Our work together has strongly reinforced our belief in the power of partnership. Together, we know more is possible.

Suzanne Apple is Senior Vice President, Private Sector Engagement at World Wildlife Fund-U.S.

Greg Koch is Global Director, Water Stewardship at The Coca-Cola Company.