Less than a year since its merger, Burlington, Mass. and Plano, Texas-based Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) announced a unified corporate responsibility (CR) program designed to deliver positive impacts, the company says.

The new program – Drink Well. Do Good. – was developed following extensive analysis across the company’s expansive hot and cold beverage operations and is focused on four areas: environment, supply chain, health and wellbeing, and communities, according to the company.

KDP Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bob Gamgort commented: “As we formed Keurig Dr Pepper 11 months ago, we recognized the unique opportunity to assess our combined footprint, address the urgent issue of plastic waste in the environment and, ultimately, create a positive impact on the people and places we touch. The result is our new vision for corporate responsibility, backed up by specific goals that will set the pace for our transformation."

Monique Oxender, KDP chief sustainability officer added: "The entire KDP organization has quickly united behind our new ‘Drink Well. Do Good.’ platform, and we are eager to harness the power of our more than 25,000 employees in this important work. Our new goals build from existing programs such as our conversion to recyclable K-Cup pods – already complete in Canada and on track to complete in the US in 2020 – and expanded partnerships with leading organizations like The Nature Conservancy and the Closed Loop Fund. We will seek opportunities to rapidly test, learn and apply to meet the urgent need for action and to create positive, lasting change for generations to come."

The four areas of CR include the following:

  • Environment: KDP firmly is committed to reducing its environmental footprint while restoring resources for a circular economy, it says. In addition to reaffirming that it remains on track to make all K-Cup pods recyclable by the end of 2020, the company committed to convert to 100 percent recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025 and to use 30 percent post-consumer recycled content across packaging entire packaging portfolio by 2025.
  • Supply Chain: KDP will continue to be a leader of sustainable practices in the coffee supply chain, engaging suppliers, farmers and both local and international organizations to benefit coffee farmers and their communities in the short and long term, it says. KDP is the largest buyer of Fair Trade coffee in the world and is working toward achieving its commitment to responsibly source 100 percent of its coffee and brewers by 2020, it adds.
  • Health and wellbeing: KDP is committed to providing a balanced portfolio of beverage options and the resources consumers need to make informed choices for themselves and their families, it says. The company will continue to add more low- and no-calorie choices as well as smaller sized options across its brands, it adds. It also will partner with leading organizations to accelerate portfolio innovation and transparency for health and wellbeing, which includes continued industry collaboration with the American Beverage Association and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation for the Balanced Calorie Initiative, with a collective industry goal to reduce beverage calories 20 percent per person nationally by 2025, according to the company.
  • Communities: KDP is committed to giving back and engaging its employees to build stronger, healthier communities, it says. The company invests in local communities with a goal to provide play opportunities to 13.5 million children and families by 2020 through its Let's Play initiative, a collaboration with national non-profits KaBOOM! and Good Sports. Since 2011, KDP has led more than 100 community playground build projects in underserved areas and has provided grants to build or improve more than 2,300 play spaces across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, according to the company.

 

For more information on the company’s CR strategy, visit https://www.keurigdrpepper.com/en/our-company/corporate-responsibility.