All Four Schools Receiving Coca-Cola Japan Reconstruction Fund Grants in Shinchi, Fukushima, Complete Solar Power Facilities; Fund Soliciting Applicants for Stage Two of Grants

TOKYO, Sept. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Coca-Cola (Japan) Company, Limited and Coca-Cola Educational & Environmental Foundation announced on September 10 that the Coca-Cola Japan Reconstruction Fund held a ceremony at Shinchi Elementary School on Sunday, September 9, to commemorate the completions of solar facilities installed with grants from the Fund at four public elementary and junior high schools in the town of Shinchi in Soma-gun, Fukushima Prefecture.

(Photo: http://prw.kyodonews.jp/opn/release/201209106797/)

The Fund decided to assist Shinchi Elementary School, Fukuda Elementary School, Komagamine Elementary School, and Shoei Junior High School after evaluating requests to help reinforce disaster management with new solar power facilities and to help educate pupils about clean energy. The Fund is paying a consumption tax-inclusive grant of up to 30 million yen to acquire and install solar facilities. They comprise an emergency solar generator with a maximum capacity of 20 kilowatts and storage batteries with an aggregate capacity of up to 16 kilowatts.

Mayor Norio Kato greeted attendees and delivered opening remarks about Shinchi's recovery. Daniel H. Sayre, Representative Director & President of Coca-Cola (Japan) Company, Ltd., spoke about the initiatives of the Coca-Cola Japan Reconstruction Fund and its assistance for four elementary and junior high schools in Shinchi. Mr. Kato gave a letter of appreciation to Kyo Suzuki, President of Sendai Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Ltd. Hideki Takami, Deputy Director of the National Facilities Division in the Department of Facilities Planning and Administration of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, congratulated Coca-Cola. Tatsuya Natori, Chair of the Shoei Junior High School Student Council, delivered a speech on behalf of all the students. He said, "We were very relieved to hear that the solar system means that we can still use electricity after a disaster. We will always be grateful to the Fund for its kindness, and will study hard so we can play solid roles in local reconstruction." Finally, Shogo Kamei, Chairman of Sendai Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Ltd., presented a commemorative gift to students. After the ceremony, students and participants looked at the solar generation and usage monitor, solar panels, and other facilities.

Shinchi began planning its reconstruction immediately after the massive destruction by the Great East Japan Earthquake. The town is deploying a "smart" urban infrastructure in keeping with its Eco-Future City (see references) designation under the auspices of the Cabinet Office. Having solar power facilities installed at all of its schools is the first step in the town's urban development program, which aims to secure clean energy for regular and emergency usage.

The town's schools maintain distinctive environmental courses. Shinchi Elementary School focuses on educating about solar and wind power. Shoei Junior High School, which is participating in the Future School program of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, plans to teach about nuclear power generation as well as solar generation. All of the local schools and the town will collaborate in researching solar power and announcing their findings as part of the town's overall efforts to acquire knowledge about the environment and energy.

The Coca-Cola Japan Reconstruction Fund decided to provide grants to purchase and install solar generating facilities under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The grants are to assist public elementary and junior high schools in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures, which the Great East Japan Earthquake hit hardest, and help educate students about the benefits of clean energy. The Fund aims to provide assistance to a total of 50 schools in three rounds between September 1, 2011, and March 31, 2014.

In the first round, the Fund chose to offer grants to 11 schools including the four in Shinchi. Schools in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures have already started installing and operating solar power facilities.

In the second stage of solicitations, from Saturday, September 1, through Sunday, September 30, the Fund will select 15 schools, possibly more, for grants. The Fund will continue to aid with reconstruction in disaster-hit areas.

Overview of Second Stage of the Coca-Cola Japan Reconstruction Fund's Eco Support Project

-- Comments

Norio Kato, Mayor of Shinchi:

A 16-meter-high tsunami attacked the town of Shinchi following a magnitude 9.0 earthquake at 2:46 p.m. on March 11, 2011. All of us here witnessed the tsunami's destruction and cruelty. Many children experienced unimaginable trauma in losing their homes and families.

Fortunately, the town's schools survived the disaster to become evacuation centers for numerous people. But there was no electricity, so from the outset of their misery, people had to rely on candles and torches. With snow falling, fuel for the generators gathered from around town soon ran out. The convenience of simply pressing a switch to get light or heating had vanished; never before had we realized just how precious electricity is to us.

In the meantime, mishaps were unfolding at the nuclear power plant, creating tremendous confusion for us initially. Shinchi miraculously experienced relatively little radiation exposure despite its location along Hama-dori in Fukushima Prefecture, so in that respect were able to return fairly quickly to normality. Our experience underscored the importance of making our schools sufficiently secure, safe and disaster-resilient to serve properly as evacuation centers. We considered it particularly important to maintain uninterruptible supplies of power. While we were mulling the challenges, the Coca-Cola Japan Reconstruction Fund announced its Eco Support Project for public elementary and junior high schools, and we immediately submitted an application. As a result, all four of these schools in Shinchi now have solar power and storage battery facilities. I cannot thank Coca-Cola enough for its massive support.

Solar facilities will be very useful during blackouts. They can also serve in educating children about an energy source that is free of carbon dioxide emissions. As soon as children get to school in the mornings, they check how much power is available, and this practice enhances their energy awareness. I also look for the solar facilities to boost interest in safeguarding the environment.

Hiroyuki Watanabe, Principal of Shinchi Elementary School:

I am deeply grateful to the Coca-Cola Education & Environmental Foundation for donating solar power facilities to our school. Our school functioned as one of several evacuation centers following the massive destruction of the Great East Japan Earthquake, but we lacked electricity and other essentials. Our new solar facilities are a huge advance in our evacuation center role, we will be able to provide backup power and gather vital information during outages.

Another blessing with the new facilities is that the Fund provided a visualization system that makes it easy for children to understand how solar generation works. Solar power has become integral to school life among all of our students, for whom it is essential to learn about renewable energy for them when they shape the nation's future.

We will harness the solar facilities from the Fund as part of science and environmental education and to increase student awareness of the need to conserve energy in everyday living.

Daniel H. Sayre, Representative Director & President, Coca-Cola (Japan) Company, Ltd.:

We are very happy to be able to dedicate your new solar panel power generation system today.

Since the event of last year, the Tohoku area, and especially Fukushima Prefecture, have become world famous for your tenacity and perseverance to overcome difficulty. You have shown how optimism is so important for creating the future with our young people.

At Coca-Cola, we also value optimism and it is one of our most fundamental principles of everything we do. We do our best to make everything we do in our business have a positive effect on the world around us. We hope that by providing this school and the many others like it around Tohoku with renewable, independent sources of electricity, you will be better equipped to continue strengthening your community and its future.

I would like to encourage the students here today to keep up the great work you have continued since last year. I'm sure your teachers and parents, and everyone in Shinchi Town will be supporting you as you become the citizens of tomorrow. You can also be sure that Coca-Cola will always be here with you to help whenever possible.

Thank you again for your partnership and we humbly look forward to continuing it long into the future.

Reference Materials

-- Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company meets with students from Shoei Junior High School in Shinchi, Fukushima Prefecture

Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company visited Japan right after the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011. He also visited at the end of March 2012. Mr. Kent met with Coca-Cola (Japan) managers and employees and with Japanese bottling partners to get updates on progress with the Company's efforts to support the recovery in Japan.

"I am gratified to see the progress we have made with delivering on the promise of our Coca-Cola Japan Reconstruction Fund," said Mr. Kent. "Coca-Cola has been a part of life in Japan for nearly 55 years, and we look forward to continuing the relationship for generations to come by supporting the communities where we do business."

During his visit, Mr. Kent also met with 20 students from Shoei Junior High School of Shinchi, Fukushima Prefecture, which is one of the recipients in the Coca-Cola Japan Reconstruction Fund's Eco Support Project. The students came to Tokyo from Fukushima to express their gratitude for the Company's efforts and commitment by staging a musical performance.

-- The Coca-Cola Japan Reconstruction Fund
The Coca-Cola Company set up the Fund within the Coca-Cola Education and Environmental Foundation on March 24, 2011, to assist areas stricken by the Great East Japan Earthquake. The Fund seeks to help rebuild lives by supporting the construction of public facilities, particularly those for educating children, in keeping with the philosophy of the Coca-Cola Educational and Environment Foundation. The Fund determines its specific initiatives after liaising closely with relevant organizations in disaster areas, reporting on its activities through its website. The Coca-Cola Company created the Fund to augment the support efforts of the Coca-Cola (Japan) Company, Limited, and 12 bottlers. They collectively donated money and the equivalent of more than seven million 500-milliliter plastic bottles of beverages to assist victims. Total disaster support from the Coca-Cola Company exceeded 2.5 billion yen by August 29, 2011).

The following website details the activities of the Coca-Cola Japan Reconstruction Fund: (http://www.cocacola.co.jp/info/donation/en_index.html)

-- The Coca-Cola System in Japan
This system encompasses several entities. One is Coca-Cola (Japan) Company, Limited, which supplies, manufactures, and sells concentrates and undertakes marketing, including product planning and development and advertising. The other entities are 12 regional bottlers and other affiliates. The system conserves energy in the course of business to pursue growth while reducing environmental impact. The system has employed renewable energy in various aspects of operations. For example, it set up solar-powered vending machines and deployed bio diesel-fueled vehicles in its fleet.

About the Coca-Cola Educational and Environmental Foundation
The Coca-Cola Educational and Environmental Foundation was established in June 2007 to integrate the activities of two predecessors. One was the Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Scholarship Foundation, which operated for 37 years. The other was the Coca-Cola Environmental Education Foundation, which served for 14 years. In keeping with its guiding principle of "Healthy Active Life," the foundation engages in diverse environmental, educational, and sports initiatives so young people can ultimately build a better world.

-- About the Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, the world's most valuable brand, our Company's portfolio features 15 billion dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle. Globally, we are the No.1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of more than 1.8 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world's top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system employees. For more information, please visit www.thecoca-colacompany.com or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo.

Contact:
Yusuke Yamanaka
Public Affairs & Communications Group
Coca-Cola (Japan) Company, Ltd.
Tel: +81-3-5466-8120
Fax: +81-3-3797-1481
e-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Coca-Cola (Japan) Company, Limited; Coca-Cola Educational & Environmental Foundation

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