Here at Sip & Savor, we see the importance of giving back to our local neighborhoods and throughout the country. And so do our member companies.

The non-alcoholic beverage industry supports the communities in which we live and work, and has contributed $1.9 billion to charitable causes around the nation. Whether they are providing bottled water during an emergency, sponsoring a soccer team or donating to anti-hunger initiatives, the beverage industry delivers. Throughout the years, thousands of cases of beverages and millions of meals have been provided to those in need through the beverage industry’s work with Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization.

We encourage you to find a way to make a positive difference in the lives of others – and to keep enjoying your favorite beverages.

Today we wanted to take a moment to celebrate the beverage industry for the many things it has done – and continues to do – to be part of the solution.

For example, our industry, and the broader food industry, proudly steps up to help meet a community need.  In fact, America’s beverage companies are active supporters of anti-hunger initiatives, including Feeding America – the nation’s largest hunger relief organization. You can read more about some of our member companies’ involvement with Feeding America here.

And the beverage industry has been a leader in common sense solutions to help address the challenge of childhood obesity. If you read our blog regularly, you’re familiar with our national School Beverage Guidelines and our Clear on Calories initiative.  But just in case you somehow are not, we’ll give you the basics.  With our School Beverage Guidelines, we removed full-calorie soft drinks and replaced them with more lower-calorie, smaller-portion beverage options, slashing beverage calories shipped to schools by a dramatic 88 percent since 2004. With our calorie labeling initiative, we’re putting calorie information right up front on our packaging, making it easier for people to make informed choices about the beverages that are best for themselves and their families.

Our commitments show that today – and every day – our industry celebrates its customers, consumers and communities.

We agree that obesity is a serious and complex problem requiring comprehensive solutions, but soft drinks are not the leading cause of obesity or uniquely contributing to the problem.

Here are the facts on sugar-sweetened beverages, including soft drinks, and their standing in the obesity equation.

• Sales of regular soft drinks have declined by 12 percent from 2000 to 2009, according to Beverage Digest.
• The total amount of beverage calories that our member companies have brought to market decreased by 21 percent from 1998 to 2008 due to innovation and production of more no-calorie and low-calorie beverages, as well as smaller-portion beverages.
• According to federal government data, all sugar-sweetened beverages (soft drinks, juice drinks, sports drinks, flavored waters, etc.) account for only 7 percent – soda is just 4 percent – of the calories in the average American’s diet. That means Americans get 93 percent of their calories from other foods and beverages.

Yet, adult and childhood obesity rates continue to rise across the country during that same period, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Look, we’re not looking to fool anyone here.  The calories in our products come from the sweeteners we use to make them.  And while our products make up such a small piece of the diet, some activists want to assign us 100 percent of the blame.

We have demonstrated leadership by:

• Cutting calories available from beverages in schools by 88 percent. Our companies removed full-calorie soft drinks from schools across America, replacing them with lower-calorie, smaller-portion beverage choices.
• Placing new calorie labels on the front of every can, bottle and pack we produce. We’re making it even easier to access calorie information and to help consumers make the decision that’s right for them.
• Providing more low- and no-calorie beverage options for consumers.  Just check out the beverage aisle in your local store for proof.

Obesity is too complex and difficult an issue to continue addressing with overly simplistic sound bites and mischaracterizations. We need to start creating the right context for this discussion. Otherwise, we as a nation won’t make a dent in reversing this serious problem.

In fact, there will be a panel discussion on how public policy can help impact childhood obesity. This should be a really interesting discussion as panelists discuss the impact of obesity here in the United States and how key stakeholders – government, industry, the public health community – can work together to tackle it.  For the sake of transparency, we should let you know that ABA President and CEO Susan Neely will be moderating the panel, but participants will include representatives from the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee and the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Also of interest, The Coca-Cola Company’s Sandy Douglas will be one of the keynote speakers.  There are myriad other events going on over the course of the three days, so if you’re a member our industry, we hope to see you in Washington, D.C.!

Families across the country are holding their own, but they still can’t afford, and certainly don’t want, an increase in costs at common stops like the gas pump and grocery store.  And these statistics show us that, while we have come a long way to pull ourselves out of a recession and into recovery, we still have a long way to go.

It’s times like these that we need to embrace U.S. businesses and seek policies that promote and stimulate job growth in the private sector.  With a direct economic impact of $178.5 billion, our industry has a significant effect on our nation’s financial system.  We provide more than 208,000 good-paying jobs across our country – and help to support hundreds of thousands more that depend, in part, on beverage sales for their livelihood.  We provide significant tax revenues at both the state and federal levels, and generously contribute to charitable causes in communities across the nation.

We at the American Beverage Association represent great companies.  They make refreshing and tasty products for a thirsty public.  Our members provide drinks that refresh young athletes on local playing fields; they offer options that hydrate the pros that bring inspiration and joy to so many of us; our companies sponsor events that bring the whole world together, and provide good-paying jobs to millions of people around the world.  Through it all, they’re working to reduce their overall environmental footprint and encourage greener lifestyles.

We hope that our industry is remembered for the smile that its products bring to your face as you enjoy for your favorite beverages.  And we hope that when you’re done you remember to recycle the containers that they came in.  That way, long into the future, we can all enjoy the wonders this world has to offer.  Happy Friday, America, from your friends at Sip & Savor.

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.

The Fly-In provides great opportunities for attendees to be briefed on pressing industry-related legislative issues from political thought leaders.  It also gives our member company representatives valuable face time with their elected officials.  In meetings on Capitol Hill, they will have time to share our industry’s position on how federal policies will impact their businesses, be able to update Members of Congress on pertinent issues and emphasize our leadership in schools, the environment and labeling information.  And this evening, attendees will be able to take in some dynamic and engaging speakers. 

With these unmatchable experiences, our annual Fly-In has become an increasingly popular event for our member companies to make certain their voice is heard with government representatives and those representatives enjoy it too, learning about issues of importance to the non-alcoholic beverage industry.

Certainly, there will be issues from 2009 that will linger, but hopefully we can take a fresh look at them or move the discussion forward.

Our companies continue to be the most innovative in the food industry – and we expect some exciting new products and changes from them this year.

Our companies are still committed to doing their part to address tough societal challenges. We’re wrapping up a three-year effort to remove all full-calorie soft drinks from schools and replace them with low-calorie, smaller-portion products. But we’re not resting on our groundbreaking School Beverage Guidelines. This industry already is hard at work on more policy innovations designed to meet the concerns of our customers and contribute meaningful solutions in the public policy arena.

Our iconic companies and their brands are part of Americana. We’ll continue to share interesting history, facts and insight into the beverage industry. From the Super Bowl ads to some cool museums to hit, we’ll tap into the fun side of our world.

We know there will still be the critics, too. But, as we always do, we’ll counter the critics with the facts – and the rest of the story they never seem to want to tell.

So keep checking us out. Start your day with some interesting ideas or fun facts to sip and savor.

Please feel free to comment. We’ll publish them: good, bad or indifferent. Our only rule is to play nice – no personal attacks or profanity.

Here in Washington, it is often said, we are a veritable alphabet soup – at least when it comes to the use of acronyms. With so many government agencies and programs, it can take newcomers quite a while to catch up and figure out what everyone in the room is talking about. Even the brightest of minds can get caught up for a moment. For a taste, take a look at this helpful Web site called “Gov Speak,” created by the university library at Indiana University – Purdue. It’s quite overwhelming – you could literally fill a book!

Well, the government and text messengers aren’t the only ones out there with their own lingo. The beverage industry, too, can often seem to have its own vocabulary. For example – do you know what CSD stands for? Carbonated soft drink.

So next time you’re at a beverage-related function, outshine everyone else in the room with industry lingo. Study up on beverage industry terms by checking out some of the most commonly used ones on our Web site. TTYL!