Coca Cola has just been awarded the 25th Annual Gold Medal for International Corporate Achievement in Sustainable Development.

“Coca-Cola’s Signature Contribution (returning to nature and communities an amount of water equal to what it uses in all of its beverages and their production), was cited by the independent international Gold Medal Jury as an exceptional demonstration of leadership in sustainability. Based on reducing and recycling the water used in manufacturing, and replenishing water as a vital resource, the efforts are yielding important social, environmental, and economic benefits.”

This award follows closely on the heels of Coke’s launch of its wind-powered billboard in Time’s Square (and plans to convert another 29 neighboring advertisements). Though not the first to use alternative energies to power billboards or reduce the environmental footprint of signage, it is definitely a high profile step in the right direction.

“Refresh. Recycle. Repeat.” is Coke’s sustainable campaign slogan. The next goal of the beverage behemoth is to recycle or reuse 100% of its aluminum cans and plastic bottles in the U.S.

With any luck, other large corporations will feel the pressure to follow suit with their own initiatives.

Alex Haythorne, at FD Element in Vancouver