"WASHINGTON — Coca-Cola has always been more focused on its economic bottom line than on global warming, but when the company lost a lucrative operating license in India because of a serious water shortage there in 2004, things began to change."
"Today, after a decade of increasing damage to Coke’s balance sheet as global droughts dried up the water needed to produce its soda, the company has embraced the idea of climate change as an economically disruptive force.
'Increased droughts, more unpredictable variability, 100-year floods every two years,' said Jeffrey Seabright, Coke’s vice president for environment and water resources, listing the problems that he said were also disrupting the company’s supply of sugar cane and sugar beets, as well as citrus for its fruit juices. 'When we look at our most essential ingredients, we see those events as threats.'"
Coral Davenport reports for the New York Times Jsnuary 23, 2014.
SEE ALSO:
"Buy Green. Sell Stranded. Even Wall St. Is Worried About Climate Change" (Slate)