Our company started in 1886 and grew with a purpose to refresh the world. This became refreshment not just in a physical sense but also in spirit, and not just to refresh people but also communities.

Today, we are a total beverage company. We’re present in almost every beverage category, and we have approximately 200 master brands. Over 700,000 people in our system help deliver those brands to customers and consumers every day.

The Coca-Cola Company purpose remains clear:
To refresh the world and make a difference.

This purpose is uniquely us. It’s why we exist, and it’s needed now, more than ever. It’s about how we refresh people in both body and spirit. It’s about how we refresh the planet and limit the footprint we leave behind. It’s about how our business system refreshes the communities we serve. It’s about how we and our bottlers refresh, inspire and develop the people who work with us.

We're also clear on the vision for our next stage of growth that is guided by our purpose.

Our vision is to craft the brands and choice of drinks that people love and enjoy, to refresh them in body and spirit. And done in ways that create a more sustainable business and better shared future that makes a difference in people’s lives, communities and our planet. We will achieve this vision through bold and courageous innovation.

This has three connected pillars:

• LOVED BRANDS. We craft meaningful brands and a choice of drinks that people love and that refresh them in body and spirit.
• DONE SUSTAINABLY. We grow our business in ways that achieve positive change in the world and to build a more sustainable future for our planet.
• FOR A BETTER SHARED FUTURE. We invest to improve people’s lives, from our employees to all those who touch our business system, to our investors, to the broad communities we call home.

Achieving a vision also means nurturing a culture that makes it possible. Culture is multi-faceted, though it’s ultimately about the right behaviors for each situation. It’s an expression of who we are.

This is hard to define in its entirety. While there are many valuable aspects of our culture, we’re calling out two behaviors that make the biggest difference because they guide our actions and confirm the conscience we follow. They are:

• ACTING WITH A GROWTH MINDSET. This means taking an expansive approach to what’s possible. It’s the essential, animating force behind building a better future.
• BEING CLEAR ABOUT THE CONSCIENCE WE FOLLOW. Our world is dynamic. Our clarity of conscience means having the courage and the compass to do the right thing. We have a long history of acting with honesty and integrity. When we’ve fallen short, we’ve made corrections. People expect us to act as leaders.

This is the default in how we approach any situation, and it underpins our purpose. We start with facts, based in science. The reality of our success and scale is that we must lead, to be a force for progress and for good, and to use our voice when we can be most effective on the issues that impact our business. Sometimes, we are more effective through our actions than our words, using data and input to inform when we speak out, and when we don’t. We are transparent. If we make mistakes, we act quickly to make things right. In our dynamic world, a clarity of conscience to do the right thing is a valuable compass.

Read more about our purpose here.

Read James’ letter to the organization on our purpose here.