Coke's chief sustainability officer to address BBA on Thursday

The chief sustainability officer for The Coca-Cola Co. will speak to the Buckhead Business Association (BBA) during the organization’s breakfast meeting this Thursday.

Bea Perez joined Coke in 1996 as an associate brand manager and was appointed as the company’s first-ever chief sustainability officer in 2011.

In her role, she created and now drives the Atlanta-based beverage company’s global sustainability strategy, which helps the company replenish 100 percent of the water it uses. Perez, who was named to Hispanic Executive magazine’s list of Top 10 Leaders in 2014, also leads the company’s efforts to integrate sustainability into its business operations.

“My role is to set the overarching policy and strategy and generate leadership systems around them. I help drive sustainability initiatives across our entire business,” Perez told GreenBiz in 2011, shortly after she was appointed to her current role. “There’s a lot of passion and employees routinely offer up solutions on their own. My job is to help channel the passion and use it to support a global strategy.”

Before she was appointed to the chief sustainability officer role, Perez was chief marketing officer for the company’s North American Division. In that position, Perez developed partnerships with PGA, NBA, NASCAR, LeBron James, American Idol and others.

The BBA meets at 7:30 a.m. most Thursday mornings at the City Club of Buckheadand features a mix of business, political and civic leaders as speakers. Tickets for members are $10 in advance and $12 at the door; non-member tickets are $20.

For more information, visit buckheadbusiness.org.