Encomium
Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited along with its bottling partner, Nigerian Bottling Company, has won three awards at the eighth edition of the Marketing Edge Annual National Marketing Summit of Brands & Advertising Excellence Awards which was held at D’Podium International Event Center, Lagos on Friday, August 27th.
According to John Ajayi, Publisher and CEO of Marketing Edge, the Marketing Edge Summit & Awards was conceived to create a platform that will unite all industry practitioners for networking and knowledge-sharing, in a bid to “enhance further growth and development of the brand marketing ecosystem in Nigeria”.
With nominations in three categories, Coca-Cola and its bottling partner, Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC), emerged winners of the ‘Leadership Award in CSR’, the ‘Outstanding FMCG Corporate Brand of the Decade Award’, and the ‘Outstanding Table Water Brand of the Decade Award’ which was presented to the leading table water brand under the Coca-Cola portfolio, Eva Water.
Speaking on the development, the company’s Director, Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability, Nwamaka Onyemelukwe, expressed her delight at the recognition of Coca-Cola’s efforts, reiterating the company’s commitment to championing sustainability initiatives in the country through local partnerships.
“As always, we are committed to refreshing the world and making a difference in the lives of members of our immediate communities. These efforts are made with an unwavering dedication to fostering a better-shared future for Nigerians. These awards are an indication of the impact of this commitment and we are grateful to Marketing Edge for this recognition”, she explained.
Recognised for its extensive CSR footprint, Coca-Cola Nigeria, along with its bottling partner, Nigerian Bottling Company, has been at the forefront of investing in areas that are particularly relevant to the common good. Through its key sustainability pillars focused on Women, Water, Waste and Wellbeing, the company has initiated and established partnerships with numerous local NGOs to address key stress areas within the country.
In March 2021, Coca-Cola, through its philanthropic arm, The Coca-Cola Foundation (TCCF) awarded a total of N303million in grants to eight local non-governmental organisations in Nigeria to support community-based projects.
Five of these projects, including Waste in the City, Waste to Strap, Mission Zero Plastic, Waste to Wealth, and Project DORI were established to combat the current plastic waste challenge in Nigeria. The other projects include the Climate Smart Shea Processing Facility, which was set up in Oyo State to ensure the economic recovery of 1,500 shea nut farmers, pickers and processors largely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic; the Tech-Relevant Teacher Programme, which provided digital teacher training support and technologies for virtual learning across 200 low and middle-cost schools in a bid to improve the learning experience in primary schools, and the Youth Information Communication and Technology Skills Acquisition Project (YISAP), which has impacted the lives of over 600 youths, including persons living with disabilities, with vocational and entrepreneurial training.
Coca-Cola’s multiple awards follow successive recognitions of the company for its sustainability initiatives, including the ‘Best Company in Social Enterprise’ and ‘Best Company in Innovation’ at the Sustainability, Enterprise and Responsibility Awards held in 2020.
