United Way Mumbai and Coca-Cola India join hands to organize Beach Clean-up Drives under ‘Clean Shores Mumbai’ Initiative

by Najuka G

Mumbai,June, 2018: United Way Mumbai, along with Coca-Cola India, has launched ‘Clean Shores Mumbai’, a coastal clean-up and marine conservation drive at Dadar Chowpaty, Dadar Beach and Mahim Chowpaty beaches in Mumbai. The event witnessed participation from environmentally-conscious volunteers from all walks of life including corporate employees, partners, local citizens and students. Local groups such as ‘Beach Please,’ ‘Jay Foundation’ and ‘Mahim Beach Clean-up’ have also been actively working at each of these sites to promote cleanliness. The drive was organized in collaboration with Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai’s G/North ward.

Mrs. Jayanti Shukla, Chief Executive Officer, United Way Mumbai said, “The enormous problem of marine debris not only affects Mumbai but coastal cities across the globe. We are playing our part by facilitating solutions to address marine littering problems at Mumbai beaches through our tried and tested Collective Community Impact model. No one organization or individual can do enough - collaborative, systematic and sincere efforts will yield the desired results of keeping our marine environment clean and preserve marine life.”

Mr. Ishteyaque Amjad, Vice-President, Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia added, “Mr. Ishteyaque Amjad, Vice-President, Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia added, “The Coca-Cola Company has pledged to collect and recycle the equivalent of 100% of its packaging by 2030. We believe that this goal can be achieved through partnerships and participation. By adopting a collaborative approach between citizens, governments, businesses and civil society, we can eliminate marine litter. We are optimistic that our partnership with United Way Mumbai will reap long-term benefits in educating communities and encouraging sustainable waste management.”

Volunteers engaged in collection and segregation of dry and wet waste on the beaches, interacted with and sensitized the beach goers on importance of marine conservation. The volunteers also distributed cloth bags to the beach-goers and appealed to them to avoid using one time use plastic bags.

‘Clean Shores Mumbai’ is a community impact initiative to enhance overall cleanliness of the city beaches and contribute towards reduction of marine pollution through sustained interventions enabled by multi-stakeholder partnerships. By supporting this program, United Way Mumbai and Coca-Cola India are showcasing their long-term commitment towards waste management by setting up infrastructure for cleanliness, raising consumer awareness, and supporting adoption of efficient waste management practices.  

Last month, Coca-Cola India and the community impact partner, United Way Mumbai, had joined the citizen beach clean-up movement at Versova beach led by marine conservationist, Afroz Shah, and announced the symbolic adoption of four high footfall beaches in Mumbai. The interventions will include:

·        Regular cleaning of the garbage on the beaches and deep sea

·        Sprucing up the aesthetics of the beaches so locals and tourists are encouraged to maintain and support the cleanliness of the beaches

·        Adopting responsible waste management practices such as segregation and recycling of the recyclable waste collected on the beach

·        Formation of Clean Beach Task Forces to ensure ownership among the neighbouring communities

About United Way Mumbai : United Way Mumbai is a part of the 130 years old United Way movement engaged in nearly 1800 communities, spanning 41 countries across the world. Our mission is to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities to advance the common good. We work closely with a network of 400+ NGOs and a large number of corporates for their CSR programmes, workplace giving campaigns and other events. Our flagship programmes have been largely in the areas of civic awareness, health, safety and greening. In addition to this, we have designed and facilitated large scale interventions in the areas of education, nutrition and sanitation in urban and rural communities.

Read more about United Way Mumbai and our environmental initiatives at www.unitedwaymumbai.org.

About Coca-Cola India  : Coca-Cola in India is one of the country’s leading beverage companies, offering a range of healthy, safe, high quality, refreshing beverage options to consumers. Since its re-entry in 1993, the company has been refreshing consumers with its beverage products – Coca- Cola, Coca-Cola Zero, Diet Coke, Thums Up, Thums Up Charged, Fanta, Fanta Green Mango, Limca, Sprite, Sprite Zero, Maaza, VIO flavoured milk ‘Almond Delight’ and ‘Kesar Delight’, Minute Maid range of juices, FUZE tea, Georgia and Georgia gold range of hot and cold tea and coffee options, Aquarius, Schweppes, SmartWater, Kinley and Bonaqua packaged drinking water and Kinley Club Soda. The Company along with its owned bottling operation and other bottling partners, through a strong network of over 2.6 million retail outlets, touches the lives of millions of consumers, at a rate of more than 500 servings per second. Its brands are some of the most preferred and most sold beverages in the country – Thums Up and Sprite – being the top two selling sparkling beverages.

The Coca-Cola India system provides direct employment to 25,000 people and indirect employment to more than 150,000 people. The Coca-Cola system in India is contributing in its own small way to building sustainable communities through community initiatives like Support My School, VEER, Parivartan and Unnati and by reducing its own environmental footprint. For further information on the company's India operations and its products, please visit www.coca-colaindia.com.