Soda Giant Leading Effort to Clean World's Polluted Rivers

"To help reverse the tide, the WWF has joined forces with Coca-Cola, which operates 39 bottling plants in China, to improve the water quality of the upper reaches of the Yangtze. One project, for example, has them working with rural farmers to reduce the runoff of animal waste into the river by turning pig waste into biogas, a type of fuel that can be used for cooking and heating. Another involves searching for ways for the multinational to be more efficient in its own use of water.

The non-profit's partnership with Coca-Cola is part of a growing corporate awareness that water is a threatened resource, not just in the Yangtze but throughout the world. Companies that require a lot of water to do make their products are beginning to assess the risks that they -- and their customers -- face on the water-supply front and what could be done to mitigate them."

Coca-Cola has teamed with the World Wildlife Foundation to clean up 6 of the other 10 worst polluted rivers in the world.