Team size: Total for Coca-Cola HBC Group (over 100 lawyers in our 29 countries and at Group)

Major legal advisors: Latham & Watkins, White & Case, KG Law Firm, Potamitis Vekris Law Firm

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

At Coca-Cola HBC, we take a proactive, strategic and integrated approach when managing legal risks during periods of instability or crises.  Our crisis management team includes legal, compliance, and business stakeholders and convenes from the initial phase, whenever an incident occurs that could lead to a crisis. Risk assessment exercises identify potential business issues and vulnerabilities that could arise during a crisis, using scenario planning, where legal aspects are integrated as part of business risks assessment and mitigation plans.  

We maintain a robust compliance framework, regularly updating our policies, ensuring that employees are aware of these policies through continuous training, and conducting audits to monitor compliance.  In times of crisis, having a longstanding, solid and tested compliance foundation helps mitigate business and legal risks, providing a clear roadmap to navigate legal complexities.  

Communication is critical during crises. It helps ensure any decisions made are well informed and identify ways in which we can support our people and the communities impacted by the crisis.  Communication helps build an environment of trust and engagement within our organisation and also with external stakeholders. The legal team involvement is integrated and continuous, providing clear guidance to our business stakeholders to help them take decisions swiftly and confidently. 

Our legal strategy aligns closely with our broader business plans. As integrated members of the senior executive teams in each country, we are promptly informed of business initiatives and can support our business in developing appropriate action plans in case of adversity. As a legal team, we are constantly looking for ways to improve, make things simpler and easier to understand for our colleagues, regularly seeking feedback from internal or external stakeholders on benchmarking ourselves versus best practices in the industry.  

What measures has your company taken to embed sustainability practices into its core business operations, and how does the role of the general counsel contribute to driving and ensuring sustainable practices within the company?

Sustainability is a critical component of our business strategy and future growth. We have a strong commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles. The legal team is a core member of the team supporting such initiatives, such as reducing carbon emissions, minimising waste, ensuring ethical sourcing of materials, and the set-up of cross-industry deposit return systems in our countries, engaging our suppliers, customers and consumers behind these important goals.  

Spotlight on: Prioritising diversity and inclusion within the legal department: 

Diversity and inclusion (D&I) are fundamental values within our organisation, and the group legal team leads by example with 50% female representation.  We ensure diversity in recruitment, with hiring processes designed to attract candidates from various backgrounds, ensuring that we have a broad range of perspectives and experiences.  Mentorship programs are another key initiative to help grow and develop our people. We promote mentoring and reverse mentoring, pairing our lawyers with senior mentors in the business who can provide guidance, support, and advocacy for their career next steps. We encourage open dialogue about D&I through regular forums and discussions, ensuring our employees can share experiences, voice concerns, and contribute ideas for improving our D&I practices in the future.