Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited has emerged as Nigeria’s most innovative multinational company at the recently concluded BussinessDay Top 25 Most Innovative Companies & Institutions Awards 2017.

The award which was organized by BusinessDay Media, a leading business publication in the country was held at Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island Lagos on Friday 28 April 2017.

Coca-Cola topped the Most Innovative Multinational category on the strength of it pioneering the bottles-to-fibre recycling programme in the country. The unique initiative which was conceived in 2005 in partnership with Alkem Nigeria Limited, a PET bottles collection and buyback system was developed and expanded to several Nigerian cities and the recovered bottles are recycled into synthetic fibres which serve as valuable raw materials for many industries including textile, furniture and bedding industries.

The company was also nominated for other innovative initiatives including the 5Alive Pulpy Orange, which is not just the first and only Nigerian made juice with pulp but also produced in Nigeria’s first hot-fill line that was commissioned in 2015. The soda giant was also recognized for its inimitable Share-a-Coke marketing campaign and the more recent spectacular launch of Coca-Cola’s Taste-the-Feeling campaign in 2016 on a unique made-for-purpose ‘Coke Island’ that was created on the Lagos Lagoon.

Receiving the award for Coca-Cola, the firm’s Public Affairs and Communications Director for West Africa, Clem Ugorji, expressed the company’s appreciation for the recognition and at the same time acknowledged the contribution of its recycling programme partners, Alkem Nigeria Limited and the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC). He said that Coca-Cola has borrowed from the success of the programme to lead the establishment of a far bigger recycling scheme called the Food & Beverage Recycling Alliance – a platform it is collaborating with other beverage companies that includes Nestle Waters, Nigerian Breweries and Seven-Up Bottling Company to promote industry collaboration and scale-up the scheme for national coverage.

Mr. Ugorji pointed out that PET bottles, in themselves, does not harm the environment but poor disposal habit do. He called on Nigerians to embrace the recycling programme by sorting and selling their used PET bottles to the many entrepreneurs who are actively participating as PET bottle buy-back agents in various communities across the country.

In his welcome address at the award ceremony, the Publisher/CEO of BusinessDay Newspaper, Mr. Frank Aigbogun noted that despite the economic challenges facing the country, notable companies have forged ahead to sustain their operations and at the same time add value to the communities in which they serve. He noted that the award team at BusinessDay Media had painstakingly ensured that the companies that emerged winners in various categories were selected on merit expressed by the observation of due care in all qualifying criteria.

Some other notable firms nominated alongside Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited for the coveted award includes Guinness Nigeria Plc, Lafarge Holcim and Ajeast Nigeria Limited. The event was graced by top corporate organisations as well as top government dignitaries, including Mr. Emmanuel Ukeje, Special Adviser to the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor and Jumoke Oduwole, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment.

Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited is a subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) based in Atlanta and part of the Coca-Cola system in Nigeria. They are responsible for the strategic marketing, brand management, packaging strategy, consumer promotion, advertising, public relations and market research of Coca-Cola products in Nigeria.

The Nigerian Bottling Company Limited is the bottling unit of Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (CCHBC), a group bottler or franchisee of the Coca-Cola Company. Its primary responsibility is the manufacture, packaging and sale of Coca-Cola products in Nigeria.