Speeches

 10/16/07
 Remarks at the WWF Annual Dinner
 "Africa: The Shape of its Environmental Future."
 Washington, D.C.
 E. Neville Isdell, Chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company

On Oct. 16, Chairman and CEO Neville Isdell spoke at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)'s annual dinner in Washington, D.C., on the theme of "Africa: The Shape of its Environmental Future." During his remarks, Isdell reflected on his time in Africa and outlined The Coca-Cola Company's commitment to water stewardship and sustainable communities throughout the continent and the world.

Neville Isdell's speech followed a photo presentation on Africa by world-renowned wildlife photographer Franz Lanting.

Carter Roberts, President and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund-U.S., introduced Mr. Isdell.

INTRODUCTION OF MR. ISDELL

It gives me great pleasure to introduce our next speaker with whom I had the chance to spend a few days in Beijing this past June.

We announced an astonishing partnership that brought together two of the world's largest institutions in our own respective spheres, but was built on the premise that there are other issues to solve besides just carbon. There are issues related to water. And we had a terrific time together in Beijing in the Great Hall talking to the media, explaining the logic behind this unusual partnership.

At one point, I found we were talking together to The Wall Street Journal and I was explaining my business roots and how I came to conservation from the business world, and our next speaker was explaining his roots in working on the social side and how he came to business from there. And we kind of looked at each other as if we were mirror images of each other.

We are delighted and honored to be a part of this partnership with The Coca-Cola Company. It is emblematic of a way of working that WWF believes needs to be an ever important part of our work, which is operating in a world that not only everybody believes is flat, where our actions here reach all the way around the world in the places that are most near and dear to us like the Amazon, the Congo, and Borneo and the Yangtze, all the places that Franz Lanting brought to life tonight.

But it is also part of our obligation as a global network that has a presence here in the U.S. and in a hundred countries around the world, and with a brand that stands for science and a practical way of working and a belief in partnerships. And so it gives me great pleasure tonight to introduce you to Neville Isdell, who is the chairman of The Coca-Cola Company and a man with deep roots in the continent that we are honoring tonight. So please join me in welcoming Neville Isdell.

REMARKS BY MR. ISDELL

Carter, thank you for that introduction. Before I go into the formalities, I want to tell you, you owe me one. Following what has preceded me [a photo presentation by Franz Lanting] is one of the most daunting things I think I've ever had to do.

But I would like to recognize Secretary Paulson, Secretary Babbitt, Chairman Field, and all of you from the family of the WWF. I thank you for your commitment, your leadership, and your friendship. It's very special to be in the environment of people who are here because they care, who are here because they really want to make a difference.

Talking about Africa and talking about what we are trying to do with the WWF is something that's very, very close to my heart.

Franz Lanting's Photographs of Africa

But I do also want to recognize why this evening is difficult, and that is the work of Franz Lanting. I've seen his work.

Your images have captured the essence of Africa. As you pointed out very clearly, you brought to millions of people around the world through National Geographic and other work, the reality of Africa and the thrill of Africa that we looked at tonight.

I spent some time trying to photograph animals myself. I didn't bring you any images of my photographs this evening because I didn't want to embarrass myself in any way, particularly my wife.

But I know how magical it is to see those images through the lens and to try and record those magic moments of our world. It's said that photography is truth, and those beautiful photographs truly capture a piece of the world that I really love.

Unfortunately, there are other truths, other images of Africa that we must face, and those are difficult truths. But those are the truths that we face together -- as partners -- to find the solutions that are clearly defined in the images that you saw tonight in Franz's photographs.

My Own Images of Africa

I'd like to start by sharing with you some of my own images of Africa, some of what brought me to the place that I'm at this evening.

I'm an Irishman; I was brought up in Northern Ireland. I was privileged, at the age of 10, to be brought by my parents to go live in Africa.

We arrived by ship very early one morning as we rocked in what they call the Cape Rollers. We were up at 5:30 to watch over that horizon as this magnificent mountain, Table Mountain, just emerged in the sunrise. And if you're 10 years old, that is wonderfully emotional.

We then traveled 2,000 miles by train over three-and-a-half days through Southern and Central Africa, with all of the different climates. At times, I sat on my own out on the open decks of the railcar looking at Africa in 1954.

I know the words that have been written, which say:

"I am an African
Not because I was born there
But because my heart beats with Africa."

It is the way that I feel and the way my wife feels, because she was 8 years of age when she undertook exactly the same experience to go to Zambia as well.

Carter has referenced my background. I'm a major in sociology. I'm a qualified social worker at the University of Cape Town, and I was also involved in the other side of Africa -- and still am -- in a way. I was a member of the students' council. I demonstrated against apartheid at the time when Nelson Mandela was incarcerated in Robben Island.

The other image that molded me as I arrived in Cape Town was a bench, a bench by the harbor which said "Nie Blankes" . . . "Whites Only."

And I said, "I can't accept that."

I couldn't accept that because my first contact with Africa was through a policeman from the eastern part of Nigeria, from Calabar, who had stayed at our home in Ireland visiting my father, who was also a policeman -- a fingerprint ballistics expert.

The Nigerian policeman was a wonderful individual who took me on his knee and talked to me about Africa.

And here was a bench that he and I could not sit on. That was the other image of the Africa that I was brought up in.

So these are the things that form your life. These are the things that clearly, clearly define where you want to go.

Despite the fact that the barriers of apartheid are gone, and the benches are now shared -- the words of Robert Kennedy still apply. I heard him at the University of Witwatersrand in 1966 -- the first major U.S. politician I'd ever heard.

He was talking about one man's actions and how they could build a current, a current strong enough -- and I quote, to "sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."

It may have been 1966, but we're still in many ways in that world today.

So now let me take you to more of a microcosm . . . to a different piece of Africa.

A Stream in Mali

Frankly, this is a story which fascinates me. I haven't viewed it yet, but I will in March of next year. It's in Mali. There's a polluted stream in the capital, Bamako. It actually runs near a bottling plant, operated by our bottling partners, where we manufacture Coca-Cola, and we put up those irritating Coca-Cola signs that Franz showed.

The people of the community were somewhat upset, because they felt that we were putting the waste water directly into the stream, or our bottler was, and they were right, we are responsible for their actions.

It cost money, so the plant management had delayed putting in water treatment systems. They said basically, "The stream is so choked with pollution from other sources that when we put our waste water in, we actually purify the stream." You know, actually they were right.

And they also said, "By the way, the discharge meets government regulations, so what's the problem?" And they were right.

So then, as a business you're faced with two choices. You can go on making that very defensive argument, or you can take a totally new approach. You can think about meeting different standards, you can think about living in a community, you can think about your responsibility to that community, and about changing lives.

And with the buy-in of our partners, and our partners of course are NGOs, we did.

A New Approach

We started working with different NGOs on the run-off of the water. We sealed open pit wells. We installed hand pumps. We kept sewage from running down the streets and running into the streams. We covered cesspits. We built latrines.

And I have to tell you, as an aside, I'm going to go to Kenya to Kibera slum. It's the biggest slum in sub-Saharan Africa outside Nairobi. I want to tell you, I'm honored to be the only chairman of The Coca-Cola Company that has a plaque on a building which is an ablution block in Kibera slum outside Nairobi. Because I think that's the new order, those are the sorts of things that we have to do for the future.

So back to Mali, and the results. Now, we are able to use that waste water from the plant not only to put into the stream. It is sufficient to allow the flourishing of aquatic life, and it will soon be allowable for agriculture.

We now are giving at least 22,000 people and growing, access to safe water, clean water in Bamako itself.

It's self-interest as well. Our bottler has a stronger, healthier community, and one that welcomes our presence and does not resent our presence. And I think that that image is just a snapshot of where we need to go in this alliance that Carter has talked about, with The Coca-Cola Company and the WWF.

Partnerships

I am absolutely convinced if we look at the problems of Africa, and they are immense, that only through this sort of partnership between business, responsible government, and civil society, can we find those solutions. I think that your organization, the WWF, is the best example of that type of partnership.

In June, we met in Beijing. We gave you some commitments. (learn more) I checked before I came here; We're today meeting those commitments. And as you know Carter, if we don't, you'll call me. And that's good.

We're meeting those commitments because we need to respect the commitments that we make and what we do.

Business and Sustainable Communities

It's clear to me that we're living in a new century for business in terms of its connection with society. At The Coca-Cola Company, we get it. We understand that you cannot have a sustainable business if the communities that surround you are not sustainable in and of themselves.

To put it bluntly, the best interest of business is to ensure the sustainability of the communities we serve, and we serve hundreds of thousands of those in 210 countries around the world. It does not mean that we are where we need to be. It does not mean we are perfect. It means we are striving, but that striving comes with some very real tangible commitments.

Our Commitments

Firstly, to return every drop of water that we use in our beverages and their production, back into nature.

Second, to grow our own business without increasing any additional carbon to the atmosphere. In addition to that, to develop low energy, and also hydrofluorocarbon-free refrigeration. And we already have those refrigerators jointly branded with another NGO, Greenpeace.

Thirdly, to recycle or reuse 100 percent of our PET plastic bottles not only in North America, but around the world. We recently announced our largest single investment into a bottle-to-bottle recycling plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It's totally closed-loop, allowing us to bring a used bottle back into a virgin bottle.

At this stage, we have only 30 percent; we're aiming for a 100. And around the world we have six plants now that we've invested in, together with people who have the technology in order to be sure that we're able to move forward on that closed-loop.

Fourth, to guarantee a safe, healthy, open workplace for our people through our global Workplace Rights Policy.

And finally, particularly with regard to Africa, our workplace activism in HIV/AIDS education, prevention, and treatment.

Water

Now, it's obvious for us as a beverage company that the most important thing for us is hydration. And therefore, we want to take a lead role in our commitments to the global management of water. It will involve a range of conservation and operational improvements.

And I'm pleased to say as I stand before you tonight, we've made very significant progress in our own water usage. But improvement is not the solution. Of course Carter mentioned to you, we made that pledge in Beijing. We said that our objective is to replace every single drop of water that we use.

It's aspirational. It will take time, but we will do it. We have goals, and we will be held accountable. Building on that, our partnership is growing. We, together, are reaching more communities. We're reaching more countries. We've expanded and sustained our partnerships in Poland, Spain, Russia, and Brazil. I was in Brazil last week with Denise Hamu [WWF-Brazil] talking about what we are doing in Brazil with the Atlantic Rainforest.

We're also exploring new partnerships in Australia, the U.K., Belgium, Tanzania, and South Africa. And together, we're also starting new partnerships in Hungary, Canada, and Mexico.

Zambia

And this is not in my script, but Franz talked about Zambia. That's where I was brought up. He talked about Lake Bangwelo; he talked about the Luangwa Valley. We've got to do something in Zambia, and let me tell you a very personal story. Franz talked about Norman Carr's granddaughter.

I was 10 years old at a dinner with my father, with Norman Carr, with the lion cubs which he eventually reintroduced into the wild in Luangwa Valley, playing at my feet. These are the things that change your lives.

The Multiplier Effect

So as we focus on water, we today have 70 community water relationships in 40 countries. And what we have to do is to multiply that, not only through our actions, but also by involving other businesses, and by multiplying it through other foundations in Kenya, for example, with the Gates Foundation. We all know that what we've done so far is still that little drop. There is so much more to do, but we do believe that for us it all begins with water.

There's a great deal of the world that's actually on track to meet the UN Millennium Goal. South Africa is one of them, but one of the few within Africa. And as we look at the billion people who are still without access to safe drinking water, we know that 300 million of them are in Africa. And we see that dynamic not just for food -- but also for access to water between humans and animals.

And I'm not going to go through all of the statistics about water-borne diseases and what that does -- for someone who's had Giardia himself, I know that very well. But what we have to do is work in this broader issue of governance, of infrastructure, of public health, of technology, humanitarian assistance, and investment, -- pulling all of that together to make a significant difference.

And again, to repeat something I said earlier, there's a new paradigm. It's how we do it together with NGOs. It's how we do it together with governments. It's how we do it by bringing together the business community in a broader way, so the three of us together can move forward. In the work in Africa, I see that new beginning.

We've got many projects in Africa; we've got 25 major ones in two areas. First, access to safe water and sanitation, therefore preventing disease. Second -- ensuring the ongoing availability of water, particularly in water-stressed areas.

We not only work with you, we work with CARE, UNICEF, USAID, I mentioned the Gates Foundation, because what we need to do is scale up, it's the multiplier.

I think one of the most wonderful things as we talk about our PLANET initiative is the enthusiasm of our own people who've said, "Why didn't we do this before? This is what I do in my private life; this is what I believe in."

So we build for ourselves a better, stronger company with more committed people as a result of actually connecting with their views of the world and with their lives.

Finally, that brings me to one other example that I think shows promise. We have picked with the WWF seven very significant river basin areas that we're going to work on.

I want to just talk about one. It's Lake Malawi or Lake Niassa -- Niassa or Nyasa, whichever way you want. Why do I pick it? Well, my wife and I actually spent our honeymoon on the banks of Lake Niassa. We swam in that lake. It was safe and wasn't polluted.

And today, it's under significant threat from a host of familiar problems -- from drought, from overfishing, pollution, and erosion. Water-borne diseases that weren't there are now taking advantage of that beautiful lake's weakened state.

The recent decision to create the second fresh water preserve in the world on the Mozambique side is a big step.

And we believe that our joint project has already sparked progress, because USAID has now indicated they want to join with us, The Coca-Cola Company and our WWF partnership on Lake Malawi. USAID said we want to invest there as well. That's the multiplier that I'm talking about. But we have a very long way to go on this journey, and it's just beginning.

But together we can save one of the continent's most important bodies of water. And then we can move on to others.

When I look at the work ahead of us in Africa, I think of something said by the greatest human being I've ever met, Nelson Mandela. He said, "It always seems impossible ... until it's done."

Impossibility has stoked other critical points in human history. There were predictions that billions of people were headed for starvation, just like Franz talked about extinction being predicted for various species. Starvation was avoided by the Green Revolution. It was said that India and China were too big, too poor, too bound to the past to create economies that were strong enough to lift the people out of poverty.

We see that that was wrong, but we also see, of course, the effects of that in terms of damage in the environment, and the tradeoff that we have to reckon with in that area. But victory over impossibility gives us the history to be able to say that we can save our environment. And at the same time, we can improve the human condition, and we can give the people of this earth the access to safe water.

To me, the growing spirit of global development gives us the audacity to say that we together can make a difference. We can change this world. Thank you.

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Read Isdell's June 5, 2007 speech at the WWF Annual Conference, go there »