Coca-Cola Amatil Submission
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Coca-Cola Amatil Submission COCA-COLA AMATIL SUBMISSION Select Committee into the Obesity Epidemic in Australia 6 July 2018 CONTENTS OVERVIEW 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 COCA-COLA AMATIL & THE AUSTRALIAN BEVERAGES MARKET 5 Coca-Cola Amatil in Australia 5 Trends in the Australian NARTD market 6 THE PREVALANCE OF OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY IN AUSTRALIA AND ITS CAUSES 8 THE ROLE OF THE BEVERAGE INDUSTRY IN ADDRESSING THE ISSUE 10 Reformulation 10 Portion sizes 11 Improved information 11 Nutritional guidelines 11 Marketing and promotion 12 Product quality 13 OUR ACTIONS IN INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES 14 THE WAY FORWARD 15 Appendices 1. Coca-Cola: Wellbeing 2. Sugar Reduction: Our Actions in the Australian Marketplace 3. Coca-Cola: Our Actions in the Marketplace 4. Promoting Choice 2018 - Health Services 5. Promoting Choice 2018 - Workplaces 6. Promoting Choice 2018 - Education Coca-Cola Amatil 2 OVERVIEW On 10 May 2018, the Senate resolved that the Select Committee into the obesity epidemic in Australia be established on 16 May 2018. The closing date for submissions is 6 July 2018. The committee is to report on 14 August 2018. The Select Committee into the obesity epidemic in Australia, established on 16 May 2018 to inquire into and report on 14 August 2018, on the following matters: a. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among children in Australia and changes in these rates over time; b. The causes of the rise in overweight and obesity in Australia; c. The short and long-term harm to health associated with obesity, particularly in children in Australia; d. The short and long-term economic burden of obesity, particularly related to obesity in children in Australia; e. The effectiveness of existing policies and programs introduced by Australian governments to improve diets and prevent childhood obesity; f. Evidence-based measures and interventions to prevent and reverse childhood obesity, including experiences from overseas jurisdictions; g. The role of the food industry in contributing to poor diets and childhood obesity in Australia; and h. any other related matters. COCA-COLA AMATIL SUBMISSION Coca-Cola Amatil’s submission does not address each of the matters of concern to the select committee but provides information and commentary on areas for which it have market knowledge and is within the remit of its commercial activities that we think will be useful to the Select Committee in its deliberation. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS SUBMISSION PLEASE CONTACT: Coca-Cola Amatil 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Coca-Cola Amatil welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to the Select Committee into the obesity epidemic in Australia. We recognise that obesity is a major social challenge in Australia, a nation which ranks in the top five obese countries in the world. It is of concern that 63 per cent of Australian adults are overweight or obese, a significant increase on the rate from 20 years ago, and that one in four children in Australia are overweight or obese.1 With this level of obesity comes higher incidences of non-communicable disease, including diabetes, stroke and heart conditions. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports that at least 7 per cent of the total health burden in Australia is caused by being overweight or obese.2 As a major Australian beverages company, we understand the role that diet plays in health and wellbeing. Australians are eating more and moving less, so we need to be more conscious of the kilojoules we take in. For Coca-Cola Amatil, we know we must play our part to address the issues and effectively contribute to positive change, and we are. In recent years we’ve worked closely with Coca-Cola Australia to introduce smaller pack sizes, make sure all ingredients and calories are clearly labelled, reduce sugar content across our beverage range and adhere to voluntary bans on marketing to children established by the beverages industry and The Coca-Cola Company. In June 2018, we were one of the inaugural signatories to the Australian Beverages Council’s voluntary industry pledge to reduce average sugar per 100ml by 20 per cent across our portfolio of sales by 2025. We work closely with non-government organisations, customers, communities and governments to encourage healthy consumption and maximise consumer choice. We want to encourage a wider, well-informed debate. Such a debate will recognise that while we have a real issue with the health effects of obesity and overweight as a community, awareness and behaviour has changed. There has been a material shift away from sugar sweetened beverages over time, which suggests the full suite of activities across the whole community to raise awareness about the role of sugar sweetened beverages in diets has had an effect. The Australian Bureau of Statistics data has shown a consistent trend away from added sugar intake in Australia over the last 20 years. This includes a six per cent drop in adult consumption, and a 23 per cent drop for children.3 Separate market research about consumer purchasing patterns has found that health has also become a significant consideration for consumers as they make decisions in relation to non-alcoholic beverages.4 This long-term reduction in sugar consumption from beverages, suggests measures underway across the total community and general consumer trends are already doing the work that proponents of a beverage-based sugar tax say would be achieved. We ask that this trend is considered against another reality - that taxing one sector of the food and beverage industry will negatively impact manufacturers resulting in higher consumer prices, ultimately impacting cost of living and the cost of manufacturing in Australia. Consider, an independent study into the New South Wales container deposit scheme (CDS) introduced in December 2017 found the impact of the CDS has had an inflationary effect on all impacted categories, which has meant increased costs to consumers. 5 In contrast, while there is no doubt too much sugar is not good for anyone, the evidence for a beverage-based sugar tax is far from conclusive when it comes to reducing obesity rates. Reducing obesity rates is complex and, as such, addressing obesity requires a multifaceted approach. There is no simple solution and results take time. We encourage the Select Committee to take a broad view of the obesity challenge. This includes consideration of recommendations that would refocus debate about obesity on healthy lifestyles, including portion sizes, consumer information and kilojoule intake regardless of the source. We are supportive of public policy that is designed to improve the health and wellbeing of Australians, but a beverage-based sugar tax is the wrong area of focus for effective public policy because Australian consumers are already consuming less sugar from beverages. 1 https://www.oecd.org/els/health-systems/Obesity-Update-2017.pdf 2 A Picture of Overweight and Obesity in Australia, AIHW. November 2017 3 4364.0.55.011 – Australia Health Survey: Consumption of added sugars, 2011-12: Children leading the way in falling sugar consumption. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 13 December 2017. 4 IRI Aztec Consumer Health: Unlocking the Growth Opportunities, September 2017 5 IRI – The Impact of the NSW Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) on Grocery and Liquor, June 2018. Coca-Cola Amatil 4 COCA-COLA AMATIL & THE AUSTRALIAN BEVERAGES MARKET COCA-COLA AMATIL IN AUSTRALIA Coca-Cola Amatil is one of the largest bottlers and distributors of non-alcoholic and ready-to-drink (NARTD) and alcoholic beverages in the Asia Pacific region, and one of the world’s larger bottlers of The Coca-Cola Company’s range of products. As both brand partner and brand owner, we operate across six countries – Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Samoa – to manufacture, distribute and sell an unrivalled range of beverages, coffee and ready-to eat food snacks. With decades of experience, we do this safely and responsibly, and are proud of the products we make that delight millions of people every day. Our Australian Beverages business produces, sells and distributes 25 non-alcoholic beverage brands to approximately 115,000 customers. In addition to the Coca-Cola family of products, our portfolio includes Sprite, Fanta, Lift, Kirks, Deep Spring, Mount Franklin, Pump, Powerade, Barista Bros, Fuze Tea, Keri Juice Blenders, Monster and Mother. Headquartered in Sydney and with manufacturing and/or distribution facilities across the country, we have invested heavily to support small and large businesses in Australia where NARTD is a key contributor of sales and profits. Our wide portfolio means we tailor offerings to all of our customers for everything from football finals to the corner store, delivering a great experience and sales to their doors. We directly employ approximately 4,000 people across Australia, the majority of whom include our sales team in the field and our supply chain team at our production facilities and warehouses. We operate 17 production facilities and 18 warehouses across Australia and continue to invest in the Australian manufacturing sector. IMAGE: COCA-COLA AMATIL AUSTRALIAN FOOTPRINT Note: Alcohol & Coffee figures represent this business’ global footprint Coca-Cola Amatil 5 For every direct Australian job that we create there are up to four jobs generated elsewhere in the Australian economy to produce and distribute our non-alcohol beverages. 6 Of our non-alcoholic beverages, 99 per cent are made in Australia and we spend more than $1.3 billion on Australian-supplied intermediate goods and services per annum, contributing approximately $3 billion to the Australian economy. IMAGE: THE COCA-COLA SYSTEM IN AUSTRALIA – INDIRECT EMPLOYMENT Source: ACIL Allen Consulting TRENDS IN THE AUSTRALIAN NARTD MARKET The NARTD beverage industry in Australia is at a mature stage, increasingly fragmented and evolving rapidly, marked by consumers embracing new trends.