L'Aquila, 18 December 2023 – Coca-Cola HBC Italia, the leading manufacturer and distributor of The Coca-Cola Company brand products in Italy, received the medal of Merit "The Time of Kindness" in the Bronze class from the Italian Red Cross National Association on Sunday 17 December at the Oricola (AQ) factory, for the continuous support to the local population during the Covid-19 emergency. The honor, conferred during the Christmas Family Day celebrations at the production site, open to employees and their loved ones, was conferred by the President of the Carsoli Red Cross Committee, Luciano Camerlengo, to Matteo Fenu, director of the Abruzzo plant of Coca-Cola HBC Italia, who also announced a donation from the company aimed at contributing to the purchase of a new ambulance for the Carsoli committee.
The daily collaboration between the L'Aquila Coca-Cola factory HBC Italia and the Red Cross has been going on for decades, but it was in moments of crisis that the relationship was consolidated, such as after the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake , when the Oricola plant supported the Carsoli Red Cross to support the population in difficulty, both through the supply of products and by making its warehouse available as a collection point for basic necessities. The cooperation between the two realities was then able to be further strengthened due to the Covid-19 emergency, when the Italian Red Cross and Coca-Cola HBC Italia joined forces in favor of the local community through the donation of products and the purchase of an ambulance.
"As Coca-Cola HBC Italia we are extremely proud to have received this important recognition from the Italian Red Cross and the Carsoli Red Cross Committee, which confirms the quality of our company's business model, which has always been oriented towards enhancing the link with the local communities in which we operate" - said Matteo Fenu, director of the Coca-Cola HBC Italia factory in Oricola (AQ) - "This also happens in Abruzzo, where we generate jobs, promote environmental protection programs and, as in this case, support non-profit organizations and the most vulnerable sections of the population. We don't want to stop here, which is why with great pleasure we have committed ourselves to helping the Red Cross partners with a donation aimed at contributing to the purchase of a new ambulance for the Carsoli committee."
"In thanking Coca-Cola HBC Italia, we are honored to have been able to obtain this honor to be delivered in the presence of the employees of the Oricola factory. The desire of our Committee to network has always been welcomed with enthusiasm by Coca-Cola HBC Italia, thanks to the sensitivity of those who work there." – said Luciano Camerlengo, President of the Red Cross Committee of Carsoli – "The pandemic was not the last of the emergencies we shared, I would also like to mention that of the Afghan refugees whose requests found the company's prompt response through the supply of water. Our collaboration is daily, thanks to the supply of goods that are destined for vulnerable families in our area and beyond.
The honor is only a necessary act precisely because of the prompt response that our territory has from the company; A company not only devoted to business, but sensitive to the demands of the territory through shared projects that help especially the weakest."
The attention to the territory and the local community of Abruzzo also takes shape thanks to the important economic and employment implications generated by Coca-Cola in the region. According to recent SDA Bocconi School of Management research, Coca-Cola in Abruzzo is confirmed as the first employer in the soft drink industry, creating 1,384 jobs directly and through its related industries. In addition, in 2022 the resources generated and distributed to the main players in the regional economy amounted to 46 million euros in the form of salaries, purchases of goods and services, investments, taxes and contributions. On the other hand, the attention to the local communities in which Coca-Cola is present can also be identified at a national level: in the two-year period 2021-2022 alone, Coca-Cola supported realities and initiatives of great social impact in Italy for a total of 87 projects and a total value of almost 2 million euros.