Coca-Cola Company CEO Muhtar Kent, one of a scant number of Fortune 500 chief execs to make it to COP15, tells GreenBiz.com Senior Writer Marc Gunther what compelled the company to have a strong presence at the climate conference.

The wide-ranging conversation recapped the Coca-Cola Company's environmental practices and recent major developments in the firm's sustainability campaign: the phase-out of HFC refrigeration, Coke's quest for the perfect green bottle and the drive toward water neutrality.

The chat begins with Gunther asking Kent why he chose to attend the climate conference.

"What we're here for is to lend a Coca-Cola voice to the public and political debate on getting to a framework, an agreeable framework a fair framework, an inclusive framework, an effective framework so that we can achieve climate protection," said Kent.

"That stems," he continued, "from our belief that in every single one of the countries where Cola-Cola operates -- 200-plus countries where we produce and we have a business -- we believe that unless we meaningfully contribute towards the creation of sustainable communities, we will not have a sustainable business."
 
Gunther's blog post summarizing the talk is available on GreenBiz.com. The full conversation can be downloaded from this page.

GreenBiz.com Senior Writer Marc Gunther maintains a blog at MarcGunther.com.

Click here for full coverage of COP15 from the GreenBiz.com and ClimateBiz.com teams, including posts from Copenhagen by Executive Editor Joel Makower, Gunther and dozens of guest contributors from the business world.

Image courtesy of Coca-Cola.