Raheem Akingbolu
Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited along with its bottling partner, Nigeria Bottling Company, won two awards at the 14th edition of the Sustainability, Enterprise and Responsibility Awards, known as the SERAS Awards, which held in Lagos, recently.
The beverage company received the awards at a ceremony with the theme: ‘Decade of Action: Accelerating Sustainable Development in Africa Through Collaborations.’
With nominations in six categories, Coca-Cola emerged winner in two categories including ‘Best Company in Social Enterprise’ and ‘Best Company in Innovation’.
Speaking on the development, the company’s Head, Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability, Nwamaka Onyemelukwe, expressed delight at the recognition of Coca-cola’s efforts and reiterated the company’s commitment to engendering local partnerships and collaborations to build sustainable communities across the country.
“We are steadfast in our commitment to foster a better-shared future for Nigerian communities. These awards are an indication of this commitment and we are grateful to the SERAS platform for recognizing our efforts”, she explained.
Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited along with its bottling partner, Nigeria Bottling Company, have since been at the forefront of driving change while solving pertinent issues plaguing communities. Through its key sustainability pillars focused on Women, Water, Waste and Wellbeing, heralded as the ‘4Ws’, the company has formed partnerships with numerous local NGOs to help the government in achieving its Sustainable Development Goals across the country.
Some of the initiatives implemented by the company include The Safe Birth Initiative (SBI), which seeks to support the reduction in maternal and newborn deaths by improving the capacity of selected public hospitals through procurement of vital medical equipment and supplies.
Other women-focused initiatives driven by the company include the ‘SHAPE 2020’ program, organised in partnership with local NGO, Whitefield Foundation, in which over 1000 women were empowered through training in vocational skills.
