Inside BENEO’s new pulse plant: pioneering sustainable protein from faba beans
The Coca-Cola Company and Swire Group jointly celebrated the opening of a new plant in Yunnan today. The facility, which is the largest Coca-Cola production plant south of the Yangtze River in China, is a world-class operation that received a gold certification of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The investment is another example of the Coca-Cola system’s commitment to investing and growing in China.
“Yunnan is promoting three provincial propositions: Green Energy, Green Food, and Healthy Living Place,” said Wang Qingmei, Deputy Director of the Provincial Merchant Bureau. “This new plant coincides with our ’Green Food’ proposition and contributes to the industry development in Yunnan.”
“Coca-Cola has been part of the tremendous changes in China since the opening of the market in 1979,” Quincey said. “We started our business in China with a single brand, and we’ve gone on to build a portfolio of more than 20 brands in the market today. The new Yunnan plant marks a milestone in celebrating the upcoming 40th anniversary of Coca-Cola’s return to China. Together with our bottling partners, we offer a growing portfolio to Chinese consumers, in addition to playing an important role in the communities where we operate.”
To meet the needs of the fast-growing market, Swire Coca-Cola Beverages Yunnan Limited decided to build a much larger production facility to replace the previous one. “Swire has significantly increased investment in our global Coca-Cola bottling business in recent years, and this new bottling plant is a good example of that. The increased capacity will help us satisfy millions of consumers and continue to drive sustainable growth throughout Yunnan,” said Merlin Swire.
The design and construction of the new Yunnan plant followed LEED standards.
Yunnan Swire Coca-Cola Beverages Company Ltd. is dedicated to adopting “green” concepts in local communities. Together with the China Women’s Development Foundation, the Ministry of Commerce’s Economic and Technical Exchange Center and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Coca-Cola will launch a regional, sustainable development program in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture. The program will cover water replenishment, natural resource protection and women’s empowerment to build a more sustainable, eco-economy on top of green farming and tourism initiatives.
The Yunnan location has been involved in local community development since 1995. Eleven Project Hope Schools were built, and 10,000 women have been empowered by retail and internet skill trainings in the province. Meanwhile, 144 clean water facilities were installed in 128 rural schools, providing more than 37,000 students and teachers with clean drinking water. Nine million bottles of water were sent to 24 disaster impacted areas, and 3,000 college volunteers were trained for handling emergency situations.