America’s leading beverage companies have long been leaders when it comes to protecting the planet and preserving natural resources. For years, they have been paving the way for best practices in sustainability around the globe.

“From packaging design to health, exercise and nutrition, these companies are making progress where governments are frequently setting unreachable targets or more despondently failing,” wrote Claire Phoenix in an article for FoodBev Media.

America’s beverage companies are constantly working to reduce water usage, increase fuel efficiency, conserve energy, and innovating to create the best recyclable packaging of its products. PepsiCo “is working on more next generation materials with bio-based bottles made from agricultural waste,” says Phoenix. And “Coca-Cola is aiming for all PET bottles to be bio-based by 2020.”

This is just the latest in the work the beverage industry has done to help protect our environment. In October, members of the beverage industry along with several other companies met at the White House to announce a phase-out of greenhouse gases known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Once the phase-out is complete, 100 percent of company-controlled cooling equipment in stores and elsewhere will be HFC-free. When it comes to fleets, the industry now has the largest number of heavy duty hybrid electric commercial trucks on the road in North America. It’s also cutting the need for landfill space by recycling or reusing 94 percent of the waste produced at company-owned production facilities in the United States.

Innovation and a long-standing commitment to the environment are at the very core of the beverage industry. Phoenix praised the industry’s vital work in this area, saying, “A big thank you to all of the companies involved – Unilever, Arla, Danone, Coca-Cola, Friesland Campina, PepsiCo and Nestle – for their years of dedication doing all the laborious data collection and research into progressive ways to help save our people and planet.”

To learn more about how the beverage industry is raising the bar when it comes to environmental stewardship, visit InnovationNaturally.org.