This runs counter to one argument that says developing countries are the most challenging places to cut carbon emissions and energy consumption, the company said in its newly published 2010/11 sustainability report 'Reasons to believe'
Coke said: "Developing countries, the argument goes, have less access to clean energy technology and have more to lose economically from anyrestrictions on growth that may result from emissions limits.
But in fact, as we build new plants in developing nations, we view each as an opportunity to build sustainabilityinto our system through integration of best practices and the latest, cleanest, most efficient technology. In thisway, bottling partners in developing countries can “leapfrog” developed nations.
Several facilities in 'emerging economies' had reached energy efficiency levels that were instructive for its entire system, Coke said.
For instance, its Turkish operations were the most energy efficient in its global system, the company said, with a claimed energy efficiency ratio of 0.26 megajoules (mj) per litre.
Operations in South Africa also showed good energy efficiency of 0.30mj/litre, Coke said, while efficiency at operations in both countries improved in 2010 by 4% and 6% respectively, compared to 2009.
Coke said that some operations in developing nations had also led to cuts in greenhouse gas emissions in absolute terms: Mexican operations achieved cuts of 13% to 392,000 tonnes in 2010, while in China and Korea emissions fell from 748,000 to 685,000 tonnes.
"Our emissions reductions are sometimes the result of a country or municipality deploying a cleaner power grid. We support such efforts whenever we can.
"In Mexico, for example, our long-term agreement to buy a certain amount of power from a local utility, helped enable development of significant wind power infrastructure."