Though environmental films and documentaries have a long record of winning international acclaim and drawing a wide international audience, they’ve all too often taken the form of head-turning fright pieces, or invectives against the excesses of corporate culture. But a new series of films produced by Coca-Cola, along with the beverage company's significant involvement in “greening up” the 2008 games, looks to reduce the divide between corporations and the widespread shift to sustainability, and instead focus on the cooperation of individual and corporate efforts to effect positive environmental change in the world. 

 The collection of films features biographical vignettes about seven of the Olympic torchbearers in this year’s historic, round-the-world torch relay.  Coca-Cola specially selected these seven individuals—referred to by the company as “environmental champions” because of their commitment to a variety of eco-friendly activities. The torchbearers ranged from the first American to ski to the South Pole to the Undersecretary General and Executive Director of the UN’s Program on Human Settlements, and represented every continent except for South America. 

The film, which will debut this Wednesday at the Beijing Olympic Games, is yet another piece of the environmental stewardship the games seem to have brought out in what is stereotypically an environmentally unfriendly country.  From the wind turbines that power the Olympic Village, to the solar collecting arrays of the Olympic stadium, to a vehicle fleet showcasing a variety of developing clean vehicle technologies, these games have been a rallying point for environmental awareness in China.

While setting an impressive precedent, the film is far from Coca-Cola’s biggest contribution to the Games. The long-time Olympic sponsor has invested heavily in its eKOfresh refrigeration units, which run on a natural, highly-efficient refrigerant, eliminating the danger of ozone-depleting CFC emissions, and decrease carbon footprint by using less energy. Over 5,600 of the units have been deployed at Olympic venues, reducing greenhouse emissions by 4,000 metric tons. 

The soda manufacturing giant also provided every 2008 Olympian with a complimentary T-shirt made from a cotton-recycled plastic blend, and has dispatched its own fleet of electric and human powered vehicles to help reduce both smog and global warming pollution.

It’s clear through efforts like Coca-Cola’s that corporations can and must be part of any solution for the long-term environmental preservation of the planet. While there is a long history of corporate pollution and regulatory side-stepping, the massive amounts of capital wielded by multi-national companies, as well as their unrivaled capacity to bring environmentally-friendly products to the consumer make them invaluable allies in a cleaner, more sustainable future.

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Photo by Flickr user bubbleofinterest