Coca-Cola and Magic Bus promotes ‘Swachhta Hi Seva’ in schools and communities across India

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Coca-Cola Company has joined ‘Swachhta Hi Seva’, an initiative of the Swachh Bharat Mission, which aims to generate greater public participation, reinforce the concept of ‘cleanliness as everyone’s business’ and culminate the celebration with a nationwide campaign.

Answering to the call-to-action of our hon’ble prime minister, Coca-Cola India and its bottling partners, in partnership with Magic Bus India Foundation have come together by initiating activities to promote ‘Swachhta Hi Seva’ in schools and communities across India, where Magic Bus has programs. This is also in line with the Company’s global vision of creating a ‘world without waste’. Wide varieties of activities are planned for schools and communities in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Schools and communities in each location will welcome enthusiastic young leaders and children from Magic Bus India Foundation, who will help make each activity an interactive learning session for children, teachers and community members. The main objective is to drive awareness of the importance of clean and hygienic surroundings and promote effective waste management solutions.

As a part of the same, Coca-Cola India and Magic Bus India Foundation held a rally in Ludhiana from the statue of late Beant Singh, former chief minister of Punjab to the statue of Shaheed Bhagat Singh at Dana Mandi, Doraha. The rally was inaugurated by Lakhvir Singh Lakha, member loksabha assembly, Ludhiana. The employees of Coca-Cola plants in Ludhiana along with employees and young leaders from Magic Bus India Foundation participated in the rally with full vigor. The rally was undertaken to sensitize communities on the importance of cleanliness and waste management.

On the association, Jayant Rastogi, global chief executive officer, Magic Bus India Foundation said, “Cleanliness and waste management are the key to ensure that the enormous amount of waste doesn’t end up in landfills. We are pleased to support Government of India for this amazing initiative as we believe that positive change at the grass-root level will help communities become the ambassadors of inducing and developing a waste-free ecosystem. This, in turn, helps the children to be healthy so they can attend school regularly and complete their secondary education.”

Ishteyaque Amjad, vice president – Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability at Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia said, “One of the better ways to join ‘Swacchta Hi Sewa’ initiative is through self-assessment of our footprints on the environment and what measures are we taking individually and collectively to stay on the side of solutions rather than that of the problems. The same is applicable for our organizations, communities and the world. At Coca-Cola India, we are committed to being on the side of the solution. Under our ‘world without waste’ vision, we are undertaking several initiatives to help mitigate the problem of waste. Together with our partners, we are encouraging self-sustaining ventures with decentralized waste management and building new infrastructure for material recovery including PET and composting of wet waste. We will continue to drive the improvement in our environmental performance by bringing in innovative solutions, sensitizing communities and minimizing our impact on the local environment.”