Canadian Beverage Association

3 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 8 CANADIAN BEVERAGE ASSOCIAT ION To address these challenges, the Canadian Beverage Association (CBA), the national trade association representing Canada’s non-alcoholic beverage industry, has been working to improve the beverage supply chain. One of the CBA’s initiatives that have significantly impacted the industry is the Balanced Calories Initiative (BCI). This initiative is a collaborative effort between the beverage industry and the government to reduce the number of calories Canadians consume from non-alcoholic beverages. The BCI was launched in 2014 and set a target to reduce the number of calories consumed from beverages by 20% by 2025. On December 11, 2020, the Canadian Beverage Association was pleased to receive an update from the Conference Board of Canada (CBOC) about their Balance Calories Initiative (BCI). The beverage industry’s objective with BCI is to reduce the calories Canadians consume from beverages by 20% in the decade between 2014 and 2025. In this new report, Finding Balance, the CBOC has determined that the amount of beverage calories consumed by Canadians dropped by 16% between 2014 and 2019. The Canadian beverage industry has a successful track record of leading voluntary initiatives. They include eliminating full-calorie soft drinks from schools and implementing front-of-pack calorie labelling, an initiative known as Clear on Calories. Through product and packaging innovations, the industry in Canada has already facilitated a 20% reduction per capita in beverage calories between 2004 and 2014. The Conference Board of Canada, an independent, evidence-based, action-oriented research organization with a non-partisan, balanced perspective, partnered with Canadian Beverage Association and its members to benchmark and verify the progress of this program. Their fourth report, Finding Balance, confirmed that the beverage industry is on track to meet its goal. The success of the BCI is only possible if consumers can access products across the country. Transportation disruptions have been a significant challenge faced by the Canadian beverage industry, which has been investing in technology to improve logistics and distribution. CBA