Coca-Cola has been based in London for over 80 years and markets Coca-Cola and twelve other soft drink brands including Sprite, Fanta and Schweppes across Europe. Coca-Cola has 290 employees working in its UK and European headquarters which is based on Wimpole Street, central London.
Customer Sustainability Director Jake Backus sent Transport for London this statement about the Cycle Superhighway plans:
Coca-Cola is a leading beverage company and we have our national and European HQ based in central London. We have been based in London since 1932, so for about 82 years.
Like many businesses in London, a growing number of our 290 employees cycle to work. Our new (sustainably focused) London HQ has essentially no provision for car parking! (Three places which are not used.)
An even larger proportion of our team would cycle to the office if they felt comfortable and safe on the roads and this was confirmed by our recent cycle to work day.
We value their safety and we want to promote active lifestyles for all our employees. We support their freedom to choose how they get to work. We also note strong evidence that more cycling increases spending in local retail businesses and lowers air pollution levels.
The proposed north–south and east–west routes will help us attract and retain the employees our business needs to continue to thrive. They will also make London a more attractive city in which to build and run our business.
‘Crossrail for Bikes’ is, on balance, great for our business and for London. Please make sure these plans are delivered, without delay.
Kind regards,
Jake Backus
Customer Sustainability Director
CyclingWorks 