Northampton, a town of 29,000 people in Western Massachusetts, is home to a Coca-Cola plant that churns out several of Coke’s fruit juice lines. And that plant is also churning out wastewater that is becoming to expensive for Northampton’s wastewater treatment facility to process. Rising costs and the possibility of tensions increasing between a city and one of its largest employers is an example of how municipalities end up fronting and subsidizing the costs of a large company’s operations.
When Coke decided to
increase the operating capacity of its Northampton plant, the expansion was hailed for the 100 jobs it added to the local economy. Coke benefited from over $2 million in state grants and tax credits that in part helped finance an on-site effluent treatment plant. But now that plant, which processes a bevy of drinks including
Honest Tea and Minute Maid, is not able to handle all of the waste the facility generates.
The result is more
sugary effluent that is difficult for the city to treat. That sugar creates high levels of bacteria, and by law the city cannot dump that waste into the Connecticut River. That is the good news. But while Northampton’s wastewater treatment system can handle the processing of the waste, the city pays for extra overtime, energy and the expenses of hauling the sludge to another site.
To deal with the additional costs, Northampton is considering
increasing wastewater processing rates by as much as 23 percent. So far city leaders say they are working constructively with Coca-Cola on coming to a solution. But so far Coke’s headquarters in New York have not responded to requests by local journalists about the problem.
As more municipalities struggle with
waste diversion, Coca-Cola is in a position to show that it can emerge from this as a strong local citizen and stakeholder. Other companies like
Campbell Soup Company and
MillerCoors have learned that working with communities on water scarcity challenges. The results are not only an
improved bottom line, but a better track record as a community citizen by showing that companies can take a
proactive stand on water stewardship. And therein lies and opportunity for Coca-Cola in New England.
Published earlier today on
Triple Pundit.
Photo of Northampton, MA courtesy Wikipedia Commons.
About The Author
Leon Kaye
Leon Kaye is the founder and editor of GreenGoPost.com and its advisory division,
GGP Media.
Contact him to discuss how he can work with your organization or event.
His focus is making the business case for sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR).
He writes for San Francisco-based
Triple Pundit,
Inhabitat and now
The Guardian, for which he writes about corporate responsibility, water, and green building. He has also written for AIA's
Architect Magazine.
Leon works out of Fresno and Silicon Valley, California, and when he has free time, he enjoys hiking, gardening, cooking, weightlifting, and planning his next trip to one of the 60 countries he has visited. He has an MBA from USC's Marshall School of Business and is also a proud graduate of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) and Cal State-Fresno.
Northampton, a town of 29,000 people in Western Massachusetts, is home to a Coca-Cola plant that churns out several of Coke’s fruit juice lines. And that plant is also churning out wastewater that is becoming to expensive for Northampton’s wastewater treatment facility to process. Rising costs and the possibility of tensions increasing between a city and one of its largest employers is an example of how municipalities end up fronting and subsidizing the costs of a large company’s operations.
When Coke decided to increase the operating capacity of its Northampton plant, the expansion was hailed for the 100 jobs it added to the local economy. Coke benefited from over $2 million in state grants and tax credits that in part helped finance an on-site effluent treatment plant. But now that plant, which processes a bevy of drinks including Honest Tea and Minute Maid, is not able to handle all of the waste the facility generates.
The result is more sugary effluent that is difficult for the city to treat. That sugar creates high levels of bacteria, and by law the city cannot dump that waste into the Connecticut River. That is the good news. But while Northampton’s wastewater treatment system can handle the processing of the waste, the city pays for extra overtime, energy and the expenses of hauling the sludge to another site.
To deal with the additional costs, Northampton is considering increasing wastewater processing rates by as much as 23 percent. So far city leaders say they are working constructively with Coca-Cola on coming to a solution. But so far Coke’s headquarters in New York have not responded to requests by local journalists about the problem.
As more municipalities struggle with waste diversion, Coca-Cola is in a position to show that it can emerge from this as a strong local citizen and stakeholder. Other companies like Campbell Soup Company and MillerCoors have learned that working with communities on water scarcity challenges. The results are not only an improved bottom line, but a better track record as a community citizen by showing that companies can take a proactive stand on water stewardship. And therein lies and opportunity for Coca-Cola in New England.
Published earlier today on Triple Pundit.
Photo of Northampton, MA courtesy Wikipedia Commons.
