CCBSS Procurement embodies our Leadership Behavior of Engage & Inspire Growth by proactively looking for new innovative sustainable solutions. Janetta Lavender, CCBSS Senior Director of Procurement, and John Kocinski, CCBSS Director of Procurement, work diligently to support The Coca-Cola System’s sustainability mission. One of the team’s efforts recently came into fruition when Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages became the first US-based bottler to have KeelClip™ 1600 machinery in their Elmsford, NY production facility. This equipment installs fiber-based paper fasteners on six-packs instead of plastic rings.
CCBSS was proud to partner with Liberty Coca-Cola as well as various stakeholders to be part of a positive solution that will remove 75,000 pounds of plastic packaging yearly from the supply chain.
This is just one of the many solutions CCBSS is bringing forward. “We expect to see more bottlers and suppliers coming out with innovative ways of doing things throughout the years to come.” John Kocinski explained, “There is no idea that CCBSS Procurement turns away. When reviewing a new solution, we carefully analyze the cost, technical capital, value, and the package as a whole.” The KeelClip™1600 machinery implementation was a large-scale project that took a lot of time and effort to complete, but its success is a big step towards a sustainable future.
“As part of CCBSS Procurement, we act as a link between suppliers with new ideas and our bottlers to implement these ideas,” advised Janetta Lavender. Being innovative is ingrained in the CCBSS culture. We believe in serving as a single, forward-thinking voice to our bottlers and consistently collaborating as one CCBSS family.
