The Coca-Cola Company Supports UA's Innovative Energy Solutions

Coca-Cola’s Sustainability Work at the University of Arizona Campus

Coca-Cola is not just a label on snacks and drinks, but a company which has spent years promoting energy efficiency on our campus. Next time you pass a Coca-Cola vending machine, you might notice a star on it—those designate the energy-efficient vending units which Coca-Cola installed to reduce the University of Arizona’s carbon footprint. Ever think that the Campus Pantry should grow its own food? It’s already doing just that with the help of Coca-Cola!  In 2017, Coca-Cola sponsored a competition for students to design a garden on the Student Union rooftop. The Institute for Energy Solutions (IES) has been working with Coca-Cola to improve the efficacy of our food, water and energy management. Here are two of the most recent projects Coca-Cola supports on campus.

The NSF-funded Indigenous Food, Energy, and Water Security and Sovereignty (Indige-FEWSS) project, supported by IES, received a supplementary grant from the Coca-Cola Foundation. Coca-Cola’s goal is to replenish 100% of the water used by the company in regions affected by water scarcity. With the help of Coco-Coal, Indige-FEWSS will design and build off-grid water treatment and controlled agricultural systems that will help remote Navajo communities have access to food, energy and water in their own communities. The Coca-Cola Foundation’s grant will also provide training for Navajo technicians and tribal college students on creating and maintaining these systems and will provide continuing education scholarships for Navajo technicians and tribal college students. “With Coca-Cola’s support, we are able to co-design sustainable food, energy, and water systems with the Navajo community while providing important training and continuing education to ensure the systems are sustainable long term,” says Indige-FEWSS PI and UA Professor of Soil, Water, and Environmental Science, Dr. Karletta Chief. For more information about Indige-FEWSS, click here.

Coca-Cola also invites students to help shape the future of water and energy sustainability through its nationwide research initiative, the Dear Future Community project. In Arizona, the focus of this project is on water and drought management, although for the countrywide portion Coca-Cola is looking for proposals in the field of recycling technology. Students who submit a 300-word summary of their idea have the chance to receive a $30,000 grant and professional mentorship. This project is a great opportunity for aspiring researchers to tackle some of the most persistent problems faced by our communities.  For more information, click here.

By providing funding and impetus for the development of food, water and energy-sustainable technology, Coca-Cola is working with UA identify ways to ease the strain of water scarcity on and beyond our campus. “We are excited about the support from Coca-Cola towards our shared vision of water and energy sustainability and sovereignty for Native people,” says IES director Dr. Kim Ogden. IES will continue to share progress that Coca-Cola and our other partners are making in finding ways to help ensure a sustainable future for us all.