TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Coca-Cola Beverages Florida, LLC (Coke Florida) extends funding for Sustainability Superheroes, a professional development program that provides extensive sustainability training, mentorship, and resources for secondary school educators, across Coke Florida’s 47-county Florida footprint.
Coke Florida, the third-largest privately held and the sixth-largest independent Coca-Cola bottler in the United States serving 21 million Florida consumers, is devoted to operating in an environmentally responsible way while creating opportunities for residents and visitors to do the same. The company executes sustainability innovation and solutions in every aspect of its operations and produces packaging material that is 100% recyclable and, when recycled, contributes to a circular economy. Additionally, the bottler maintains strong partnerships with leading national and local organizations working to achieve a broader sustainability impact and provide a wide range of resources to educate communities.
“Sustainability is one of our core community pillars at Coke Florida,” said Erin Black, Coke Florida’s Vice President of Sustainability, Risk Management, and Facilities. “As the local Coca-Cola bottler, we are committed to investing in our communities by providing tools and opportunities for educators to learn and teach others how to lead a more sustainable life. Their students are our next generation of environmental leaders.”
Sustainability Superheroes, developed in partnership with the University of South Florida (USF) Gus A. Stavros Center for Free Enterprise and Economic Education in 2019 with a $200,500 grant from The Coca-Cola Foundation, has empowered nearly 1,300 Greater Tampa Bay K-12 teachers to creatively introduce and incorporate sustainability topics into their school curriculum based on State of Florida standards.
With sustainability being an essential part of Coke Florida’s commercial priorities, Sustainability Superheroes has been expanded to school districts statewide, bringing the total investment in the program to $240,500. With committed funding from Coke Florida for the next two years, the USF Stavros Center will host a series of 8-session workshops at least four times a year for educators from Jacksonville to The Keys. Sustainability Superheroes will serve approximately 150 teachers annually, reaching over 2,000 new students each year through various lessons and activities aligned with Coke Florida’s key sustainability initiatives, including recycling, water stewardship, litter and waste reduction, and resiliency.
“The ongoing contributions will allow the Stavros Center to have a statewide impact in enhancing the instructional skills of K-12 educators in areas related to sustainability,” added Dick J. Puglisi, Ph.D., Chair and Director of the USF Stavros Center for Free Enterprise and Economic Education. “Although the USF Stavros Center’s regional impact is a six-county/school district area, the partnership with Coke Florida gives educators throughout Florida the opportunity to integrate sustainability concepts into their curriculum by participating in these professional development sessions.”
Coke Florida and USF are excited to equip more Florida teachers with the knowledge and resources needed to increase their students’ awareness of sustainability and how they and those around them can become environmentally friendly. Workshops for Sustainability Superheroes are held both in-person and virtually.
About Coca-Cola Beverages Florida, LLC
Coca-Cola Beverages Florida, LLC (Coke Florida) is a family-owned independent Coca-Cola bottler. Coke Florida has an exclusive sales and distribution territory that covers over 21 million consumers across 47 Florida counties, and includes the major metropolitan markets of Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, and Tampa. Coke Florida markets, sells, manufactures, distributes, and merchandises over 600 products of The Coca-Cola Company and other partner companies. The company is the third largest privately held and the sixth largest independent Coca-Cola bottler in the United States. The company is also one of the largest Black-owned businesses in the United States. Coke Florida was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.
