Top marks for Coca-Cola system in MENA

The Middle East & North Africa (MENA) Business Unit of The Coca-Cola Company was declared the winner of the 2012 Woodruff Cup in a ceremony in recognition of the division’s outstanding performance last year.
With double digit growth rates recorded across the Business Unit, which also includes Pakistan and parts of West Africa, the MENA team came out ahead of 10 other accomplished finalists, including ASEAN, Canada, India and South West Asia, Japan, Latin Center, Mexico, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, South Africa, South Latin, and Turkey, Caucasus & Central Asia.
The Robert W. Woodruff Cup, named for Coca-Cola’s longtime leader, is the company’s most prestigious operating award, honoring the top-performing business unit in the worldwide Coca-Cola business system, and particularly the one which most directly connects its efforts and results to the short and long-term goals of the business.
Curt Ferguson, Middle East and North Africa Business Unit president, accepted the award from Muhtar Kent, The Coca-Cola company’s chairman and CEO, and said: “While this award recognizes the achievements of the entire Cocoa-Cola system in MENA — including our bottling partners, customers, suppliers, and retailers who deliver refreshment and moments of happiness to hundreds of millions of consumers every single day — it also highlights the vibrant potential of this region. We are proud that our business not only contributes to the economic growth of each market but also how it supports the communities in which we operate.”
The Middle East region, spanning 11 countries including the GCC and Levant areas including Iraq, focused on youth and water conservation.
The launch of a successful water conservation program in line with the company’s aim to be water neutral by the year 2020 was one of the highlights for the regional hub.
The program, appropriately named ‘Every Drop Matters’, was launched in 6 countries in 2011, and impacts 139,000 beneficiaries.