Calculating the carbon footprint of supporting London 2012 Olympics

The Coca-Cola Company is a Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Movement and official drinks provider for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Coca-Cola has publicly committed to support LOCOG to make the 2012 Games the greenest ever.

Anthesis worked with the company to look at ways to reduce the carbon footprint of all its activities related to the Games, which included its role as Presenting Partner of the Olympic Torch Relay, providing its range of drinks to millions of athletes, spectators and officials, and providing hospitality for guests attending the event.

Anthesis calculated the footprint for the company’s existing plans and highlighted areas where more could be done. The carbon emissions from every aspect of Coca-Cola’s involvement in the games was measured - staff uniforms, fridges, transport, energy use, merchandise – and an advisory group of stakeholders and experts was set up to assess Coca-Cola’s progress towards a lower carbon Olympic Games.

The study highlighted the carbon hotspots - those areas where a small change could make a big difference to the overall carbon footprint. The accommodation for Coca-Cola staff and guests is a big hitter which the company would like to tackle.

This study created a methodology which Coca-Cola can continue to use when measuring and reducing its carbon footprint in future Olympic Games. 

“I have found the team at Anthesis (then trading as Best Foot Forward) to be well informed, eager to help and a pleasure to work with. You have delivered on every detail in a timely and efficient way and have been available on the phone whenever I’ve had questions. Your strategic advice has added considerable value too, reaching beyond the brief to help shift a potentially rather dry piece of work into something I can use to excite my wider team – and hopefully external stakeholders too. My thanks to the whole team.”

– Katherine Symonds, Coca-Cola