The Coca-Cola Co. and the World Wildlife Fund teamed up with South Korea’s government organizations to protect water resources in PyeongChang on Tuesday, one day ahead of World Water Day.

A memorandum of understanding for a comprehensive water conservation program was signed, with six parties from the public and private sectors deciding to collaborate to conserve water resources to achieve an eco-friendly PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games next year.

The six-body partnership consists of Coca-Cola, WWF, the Gangwon Province government, Korea National Park Service, Samyang Ranch and the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee. 

According to the memorandum, the first project will aim to protect environmental diversity and freshwater resources in Jilmoi wetland and Samjung Lake in Odaesan National Park, PyeongChang, Gangwon Province.

“We will do our best to support an eco-friendly PyeongChang Winter Olympics through the comprehensive freshwater stewardship project,” Coca-Cola Korea CEO Lee Chang-yeop said at the signing ceremony Tuesday. “We will continue to conserve the area even after the Olympics and launch various environment projects tailored to South Korea in tandem with WWF.”

This water conservation program also marks the launch of Coca-Cola’s global water replenishment program in South Korea. The Coca-Cola Co. and its bottling partners set a goal to safely return to communities and nature an amount of water equal to what the company and its partners used in their finished beverages in 2007. The goal was achieved in 2015, five years ahead of its original goal of 2020, the company said.

Since 1993, the United Nations General Assembly has officially designated March 22 as World Water Day to bring attention to water-related issues such as the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

By Park Ga-young  (gypark@heraldcorp.com)