The Coca-Cola Company

2500 Windy Ridge Parkway Atlanta, GA 30339 United States

(404) 676-2683 groups@worldofcoca-cola.com http://www.coca-colacompany.com
FOR MORE INFORMAITON, CONTACT:
Shihua Xu, vice president public relations
Phone: (315) 708-5447
Email: sxu32@syr.edu

BACKGROUNDER: KEEP THE PURE RUNNING

October 2014
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO), founded in 1886, now is the world's largest beverage
company. It is the top provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and
juice drinks. Led by Coca-Cola, it has a variety of recognizable brands including Diet Coke,
Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Glacau smartwater, DASANI, Powerade, Minute
Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle.
With the world's largest beverage distribution system, Coca-Cola reaches consumers in more
than 200 countries. It focuses on the needs of consumers and franchise partner, and values their
joint efforts in providing better products and services. Together with their bottling partners, it
ranks among the world's top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system associates.

The Coca-Cola Company is a responsible citizen that supports sustainable communities. With a
commitment to building sustainable communities, it also focuses on environmental work for its
- more Pure Running, pg. 2
associates and the economic development of the communities. Coca-Cola pays more attention to
four major areas: water stewardship, sustainable packaging, energy management and climate
protection. And it places relatively more focus on water stewardship that is closely related to its
business.
As a worlds leading beverage company, Coca-Cola understands the priceless value of water,

regards it as the most precious shared global resource, and works vigorously to conserve water
worldwide. Since 2005, it has been active in protecting the local water resources. Coca-Cola
developed a Community Water Partnerships program with 11 organizations to bring clean water
and sanitation to underserved areas, and it has sponsored more than 320 water projects in 86
countries.
The collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was its
largest one ever. In 2005, they together protected and improved the sustainability of watersheds,
increased access to water supply and sanitation, and enhanced productive use of water in 23
countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
The mission of the Coca-Cola Company is enduring. It declares their purpose as a company and
serves as the standard against which they weigh their actions and decisions to refresh the world,
to inspire moments of optimism and happiness, and to create value and make a difference.
Charity: water
Charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in
developing nations. Founded by Scott Harrison in 2006, it has helped fund 13,075 projects in 22
countries, benefiting over 4,400,000 people with clean water since then. According to its official
annual financial report in 2013, it has raised over $35 million by the end of 2013.

- more Pure Running, pg. 3

Charity: waters major work is to travel the world to find inspiring organizations who are able to
provide long-lasting water and sanitation services. It now has partnership with 16 organizations
that have a community-centered approach, excellent financial reporting and a deep knowledge of
water project implementation. It also partners with corporations for matching fundraising
programs tailored to their business market and brand, in order to raise the awareness and
amplify the impact.
The countries charity: water has funded are around the globe - Africa, Asia, Central and South
America. For many years, it helped to build thousands of freshwater wells, rainwater catchments,
water purification systems and sand filters for people in need. It has a bold promise to the general
public that it is determined to pass 100 percent of public donations straight to the field to fund
water projects worldwide.

Charity: water also has rich experience using mainstream and social media platforms to raise
awareness, including annual galas and events arranged via Twitter. In 2013, Charity Navigator
rated the organization among their highest-rated charities, with an overall rating of 67.32 out of
70. It was also ranked top 4 in the list of Top 100 Non-profits on the Web in 2014.
Charity: waters mission is to bring clean and safe drinking water to people in developing
nations by evoking peoples awareness to donate for their water projects around the globe.
The Need to Support Clean Water Projects
Clean and accessible water is vital to the health of all
people, and it is closely related to peoples daily life as
well as the economic prosperity. According to the World
Health Organization (WHO), a significant amount of
disease can be prevented especially in developing
countries through better access to safe water supply,
adequate sanitation facilities and better hygiene practices.
A report conducted by WHO about water, sanitation and
health shows that clean water alone can reduce waterrelated deaths by 21 percent; sanitation alone can reduce
water-related deaths by 37.5 percent; and handwashing
alone can reduce water-related deaths by 35 percent. The
issue is rather severe in developing countries where
people are suffering from unhygienic and unsafe water supply. Therefore, to significantly cut
down disease rates in the developing world, water is the first step.
- more Pure Running, pg. 4
It is an urge to support these clean water projects to make a difference for people in need. The
return of supporting these projects can be rewarding as well. Every $1 invested in improved
water supply and sanitation can yield from $4 to $12 for the local economy, depending on the
type of the project. Clean water transforms lives, communities and generations at a surprisingly
low cost. Just $30 can provide clean water for one person in developing nations.
In addition, water is essential to Coca-Colas business, since water is the main ingredient in their
beverages and central to their manufacturing process. Coca-Cola thus has a particular interest in
protecting the water sources that sustain communities, because the communities that host their
bottling plants are also their consumer base. In addition to the ethical and ecological imperatives
that drive them to establish water stewardship, they also have a vested business interest in
conserving and improving local water sources. Moreover, it is a good chance to show their
corporate social responsibility and improve Coca-Colas public image.
Keep the Pure Running
The Coca-Cola Company sponsors Keep the Pure Running campaign to raise funds for the
non-profit charity: water to further implement their clean water projects around the world. This
campaign consists of three 5K events and two product marketing events, and it lasts for three

months from June 1 to August 31, 2014.

The 5K event, named The Pure Running, will
successively take place at three cities in the United States:
Boston, New York and Los Angeles. More than 36,000
people participated in the 5Ks. The first 5K will be held
at Seaport Center, Boston, on 9 a.m., June 18, 2014; the
second will be held at Riverside Park, New York, on 9
a.m., July 18, 2014; and the third one will be held at Long
Beach, Los Angeles, on 9 a.m., August 18, 2014.
The registration fee is $25, and all the money will go
directly to charity: water as donations for clean water
projects in developing nations. The online registration will be available from May 1 to May 22,
2014, at both websites of Coca-Cola and charity: water. In the 5Ks, Lauren Fleshman, a wellknown American track and field athlete, will lead the 5K and share professional running
techniques with participants.
In addition, people who may not attend the 5K events can buy Glacau smartwater products to
- more Pure Running, pg. 5
support charity: water in a different way. Fifteen percent of the sales revenue of Glacau
smartwater supports charity: water. In the meantime, Coca-Cola and charity: water will sell their
co-designed limited edition T-shirts and bottles at their online stores. Thirty percent of each sale
benefits water projects.
More specific information about the campaign will be updated daily at Coca-Colas Facebook
page. It is welcomed to follow Coca-Colas official Facebook and learn more about how to get
involved in running for water. People are encouraged to post a tweet or a photo with
#KeepThePureRunning in Twitter and Instagram to get involved. For more information, please
visit http://www.coca-colacompany.com, or follow Coca-Cola on its official Twitter at
twitter.com/CocaColaCo.
###

Sources:
http://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/mission-vision-values
http://www.coca-colacompany.com/about-water-stewardship
http://www.coca-colacompany.com/sustainabilityreport/world/water-stewardship.html
http://www.charitywater.org/about/mission.php
http://www.charitywater.org/projects/partners/
http://www.charitywater.org/about/financials.php
http://www.charitywater.org/whywater/
http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/diseases/burden/en/
http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/factsfigures04/en/
http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/SC/pdf/WWDR3_Facts_and_Figures.
pdf