Coke to reduce water usage in production

The company says it will put more effort into recycling the water it uses in manufacturing and would make a $20 million commitment to the World Wildlife Fund.

The Coca-Cola Co says on Tuesday it will reduce the amount of water used to produce its beverages and put more effort into recycling the water it uses in manufacturing.

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Coke, which along with its bottlers used 290 billion litres of water for beverage production last year, said it would make a $20 million commitment to the World Wildlife Fund.

"Our goal is to replace every drop of water we use in our beverages and their production," Coke chief E Neville Isdell told the WWF's annual meeting in Beijing.

More than half the water Coke used in 2006 was dedicated to processes like rinsing, cleaning, heating and cooling, rather than going into the drinks themselves.

Coke's new measures include setting water efficiency targets for global operations by next year, and aligning its manufacturing system to return all water used in manufacturing to the environment.

The Atlanta-based company will also expand support of local water preservation efforts, like harvesting rain water, reforestation, improving water efficiency in farming, Coke and the WWF said in a statement.