America’s beverage companies make and sell some of the world’s most popular non-alcoholic beverages in the world. At the same time the American beverage industry is an important part
of the nation’s economy.

Contribution to the U.S. Economy:

Producers of non-alcoholic refreshment beverages provide good paying jobs, pay significant taxes and donate millions to numerous charitable causes.

• Direct, indirect and induced employment in the beverage industry means 3.02 million jobs that create $278 billion in annual economic activity.

• Direct compensation to 211,000 beverage industry workers tops $9 billion. At the state and federal level, beverage companies pay more than $30 billion of business income taxes, personal income taxes, and other taxes with over $14 billion in taxes paid to state governments alone.

• In 2003, it is estimated that beverage companies donated $326 million to charities.

Balanced Beverage Choices:

The beverage industry’s products play an important role in the lifestyle choices of young people. The industry is working to ensure that products, policies and programs support efforts of parents and children to adopt healthy lifestyles.

• Childhood obesity is a critical problem facing our society. Experts believe childhood obesity should be addressed by promoting healthy lifestyles, including a balanced and nutritious mix of foods and beverages along with regular exercise.

• Parents, schools, government, industry and communities all have a role to play in encouraging good lifestyle choices.

• For consumers who want to limit the calories they get in beverages, the beverage industry offers a broad range of low-calorie and no-calorie beverage options.

• The beverage industry is providing valuable leadership when it comes to providing only nutritious or low calories beverages in schools and is providing financial assistance to programs addressing the overall health of students.

• Our industry has invested millions of dollars annually in physical activity and health education programs for our children, encouraging them to be more active and to have a balanced diet.

The beverage industry recently worked with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to develop new school beverage guidelines that will reduce the number of calories present in beverages throughout the school by providing students with even more low-calorie and nutritious or functional beverages.  The new guidelines build upon the school vending policy adopted by the beverage industry last summer. The guidelines have been adopted by the American Beverage Association,
PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages.

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation is a joint initiative of the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association. 

Under the new policy, the beverage industry will provide:

Elementary Schools

• Bottled water

• Up to 8 ounce servings of milk and 100% juice**

• Low fat and non fat regular and flavored milk* with up to 150 calories/8 ounces

• 100% juice with no added sweeteners and up to 120 calories/8 ounces

Middle Schools

• Same as elementary school, except juice and milk may be sold in 10 ounce servings with proportionally more total calories

High Schools

• Bottled water

• No or low calorie beverages with up to 10 calories/8ounces

• Up to 12 ounce servings of milk, 100% juice**, light juice and sports drinks

• Low fat and non fat regular and flavored milk with up to 150 calories/8 ounces

• 100% juice** with no added sweeteners and up to 120 calories/8ounces

• Light juices and sports drinks with no more than 66 calories/8ounces

• At least 50% of beverages must be water and no or low calorie options

*milk includes nutritionally equivalent milk alternatives (per USDA), such as soy milk

**100% juice must contain at least 10% of the recommended daily value for three or more vitamins and minerals.

The partnership with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation builds upon the beverage industry’s long-standing tradition of being community leaders and addressing social concerns. The Alliance shares the desire for schools to have comprehensive fitness, health and nutrition programs to teach children how to lead healthy lives. The new beverage policy reinforces with children the importance of balancing calories consumed with calories burned. We believe achieving this balance is the most meaningful way to have an impact on the health and wellness of our children.

Abundance and Affordability:

As consumers have demanded more variety, the industry has responded with a wider range of high quality beverages.

• To satisfy consumer preferences, including choices such as bottled water, tea, juice, juice drinks and sports drinks, zero- and mid-calorie soft drinks, and dairy-based beverages.

• Beverage companies also provide a variety of products and package sizes – and are constantly working to develop new products and packaging options – that enable consumers to choose the drink that is appropriate for them and their children at any given time.

• The beverage industry has voluntarily begun to make calorie and nutrition information available for the total container for all full sugar single serving sizes up to and including 24 fl oz containers.

Community Involvement and Contribution:

The beverage industry supports numerous physical activity and wellness initiatives across the country to encourage people to be more active and healthy. For example:

• The beverage industry provides millions of dollars to support the YMCA and Boys and Girls Clubs throughout the country.

• The beverage industry sponsors youth sports teams and leagues throughout the country.

• In 2005, Coca-Cola, in conjunction with the President's Council for Physical Fitness and Sports, the School Nutrition Association, and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, developed the "Live It!” program designed to help middle school students build healthy lifestyles by encouraging physical activity as part of their daily lives and by providing nutrition tips in schools using the new USDA Food Pyramid.

• PepsiCo and America On the Move developed a lesson plan called Balance First™ to help educate kids about energy balance. This program reached three million elementary school students in 2004. In 2005, as part of a partnership with Discovery Education, PepsiCo distributed the Balance First program to 15,000 middle schools in the United States.

• Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages in partnership with the American Diabetes Association supports Weight Loss Matters, a program that educates people about the importance of reducing calories and portion sizes as well as the benefits of physical activity.

Environmental Stewardship:

The beverage industry is proud of its longstanding commitment to a clean environment. We are
constantly searching for ways to minimize the environmental impact of our business.  Environmental stewardship is a critical part of our operating philosophy.

• In areas of energy and water usage, vehicle emissions, and generation of solid waste we work hard to be as environmentally friendly as possible.

• Our initiatives are many and varied:  state of the art treatment and reuse of effluent, installation
of solar roofing at bottling plants, high efficiency refrigeration technology, lightweighting of packaging, increased use of recycled content and new consumer awareness campaigns
that increase recycling rates.

• Beverage producers have always been environmental leaders and we will continue to innovate
and undertake the very best environmental practices to meet the challenge of being
good to our planet.