Big Red Investing in Green

Coca-Cola's investing in green funds and companies that can help it clean up its manufacturing process.

Image: Atlanta Business Journal

The Coca-Cola Co. has poured $70 million into cleantech venture funds managed by Element Partners and RockPort Capital Partners.

While Coca-Cola expects a good financial return from its investments, the company also sees it as a way to spot promising technologies and services that could help it be a better steward of the environment.

“It’s one of the tools to help make our system more sustainable,” said Jeffrey Foote, Coca-Cola’s director of sustainability. "We’re trying to grow the business, and not the carbon,” he added.

Coca-Cola’s investment in cleantech funds acknowledges the interest in finding leading-edge companies and technologies that will benefit its efforts to be an environmental steward, said Michael Bevan, co-founder and managing director at Element Partners.

Suburban Philadelphia-based Element invests in energy and cleantech high-growth companies and has managed more than $1.2 billion in capital commitments since 1995. Boston-based RockPort Capital Partners manages about $850 million.

Several conglomerates have dedicated pools of capital—also known as captive venture funds—directed at seeding or acquiring companies to help their core business.

It is atypical for a company, however, Bevan said, “to take such a strong interest in improving their environmental impact that they commit capital to a private equity fund with the hopes of identifying technologies or services which can further improve their environmental leadership.”

For more on Coca-Cola's green ventures, click here for the full story from the Atlanta Business Journal (subscription required).