Coca-Cola for Clean Water?

I just wanted to highlight my recent confusion over Coca-Cola’s sustainability efforts. Namely:

• The World Wildlife Fund – Coca-Cola Partnership: “an effort to measurably conserve seven of the worlds most critical freshwater river basins.”

• The Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN): Coca-Cola’s $30-million dollar commitment to providing communities throughout Africa with safe drinking water and sanitation.

• The Global Water Challenge (GWC): founded with support from Coca-Cola, a global movement toward safe water and sanitation.

• Coca-Cola’s Commitment to the CEO Water Mandate: a program designed to help companies better manage their water use.

Though I applaud Coca-Cola’s apparent concern over the world’s water supply, I can’t help but contemplate the irony of their efforts. Surely Coke must be aware that it takes nearly two gallons of water to manufacture just one of their many plastic beverage bottles. Conservation? Good water management? Nice try, guys, but I can’t help but wonder if this is “greenwashing” at it’s best…

Readers, what do you think?