WWF and COCA-COLA JOIN FORCES TO HELP PROTECT THE ARCTIC, HOME OF POLAR BEARS
Gland, January 17th, 2013 - WWF and Coca-Cola have joined forces to launch Arctic Home, a new campaign focused on raising awareness and funds to conserve the home of the polar bear and create a positive future for the Arctic.
The Arctic is being affected by climate change; it’s warming twice as fast as the global average and sea ice is disappearing at a rate of about 11% each decade. This disappearing sea ice is threatening the future of the polar bear - the summer ice where they roam, hunt and breed is predicted to virtually disappear in a generation.
Set to run for three years and rolling out over 16 European markets in the coming weeks, Arctic Home will use WWF’s extensive scientific network and conservation efforts along with Coca-Cola’s marketing expertise and resources to bring the plight of the polar bear closer to home for millions of people.
The money raised will fund WWF’s polar bear conservation projects and help tackle climate change. Field projects include research and conservation planning in the Last Ice Area – an area of over 1.4 million sq km in northern Greenland and northern Canada – a region bigger than France and Spain combined.
Never before have so many individual Coca-Cola and WWF European countries come together to support such a large scale campaign to raise awareness and funds for a common cause.
Coca-Cola has reserved €3 million over the three years of the campaign, inviting consumers to make their own online donations to Arctic Home. This forms a part of the global partnership, in effect since 2007, between The Coca-Cola Company and WWF focused on water conservation, sustainable agriculture and cutting the Company’s carbon emissions.
"The Arctic home of the polar bear is threatened by climate change, with summer sea ice predicted to virtually disappear in a generation. With the ice melting, polar bears will increasingly struggle to find enough food for themselves and their cubs. But if we act now, together we can help protect the polar bear's home for the long haul. Rolling out the Arctic Home campaign with Coca-Cola in Europe is another important step in that direction,” said Jim Leape, Director General of WWF International.
For the first time ever in Europe, over 300 million Coca-Cola packs will feature the image of a mother polar bear and her two cubs making their way across the Arctic. Supported by a pan-European advertising campaign, funds raised will be used to support and conserve this important habitat by working with local communities, government and conservationists, supporting scientific research and helping to reduce conflict between humans and bears.
Coca-Cola Brand Director for Northern Europe and the Nordics, Hilary Quinn said: “Polar bears have been a much-loved part of Coca-Cola’s iconic advertising for over 90 years and because we’ve had such a tie with them we want to help create a future for them and their Arctic home.
"For the last few years, we’ve worked with WWF firstly through the Polar Bear Support Fund and more recently via the launch of Arctic Home in North America, to help conserve polar bears home in the Arctic. We are really excited to be building on this partnership with the launch of the Arctic Home campaign here in Europe.
"We believe that by combining our two organisations’ strengths and resources with the support and involvement of the general public, we’ll be able to go beyond what we each could achieve on our own.”
WWF and Coca-Cola are calling for everyone to find out more, get involved or donate by visiting www.artichome.eu
For Further Information
Niki Parker, WWF International tel: +41 22 3649111 ext 9072 mobile: +79 955 9952 nparker@wwfint.org
Alicia Doherty, WWF-UK tel: +44 1483 412 280 mobile: + 44 7917 000 595 adoherty@wwf.org.uk
About WWF
WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.
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