Our member companies are constantly working on new ways of further reducing their impact on the environment. This includes reducing and reusing 100 percent recyclable packaging, using more post-consumer recycled materials and deploying hybrid trucks for deliveries. But, our companies are working on saving energy and reducing green house gasses (GHGs), too.

Today, The Coca-Cola Company introduced to Capitol Hill new climate-friendly vending equipment. The introduction follows a promise made by the company that 100 percent of new vending machines and coolers will be hydrofluorocarbon-free (HFC-free) by 2015, which will reduce carbon emissions by more than 52.5 million metric tons over the life of the equipment - that's the equivalent of removing more than 11 million cars from the road for one year!

PepsiCo is delivering on commitments to save energy and reduce GHGs as well. They have set a number of goals to be completed by 2015, including reducing fuel use by 25 percent, improving energy use efficiency by 20 percent and reducing greenhouse gas intensity for U.S. operations by 25 percent as part of a joint effort with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Climate Leaders Program.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPSG) has a four-pillared environmentally consciousness program that includes energy and water conservation, recycling and solid waste reduction and lightweighting of materials. In fact, DPSG also has been working to replace coolers and vending machines across the country with more energy efficient, environmentally conscious equipment. This change will save consumers nearly $9 million annually in electric costs by 2012. Internally, to reduce liquid losses during production, DPSG has been developing and implementing high-tech product blending systems.

These are just a few examples of the steps that our member companies are taking to make sure that they do their part in protecting the environment for generations to come. For more information on the beverage industry, be sure to check back with us here or on Facebook and Twitter! And to learn more about our environmental efforts, please visit our recycling and water resources issue sites.