March 8/New York/PRNewswire-USNewswire -- America's leading beverage companies have delivered on a three-year commitment with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint initiative of the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation, to remove full-calorie soft drinks from schools across the country and replace them with lower-calorie, smaller-portion beverages. As a result of the landmark agreement, there has been an 88% reduction in calories from beverages shipped to schools since 2004.
The American Beverage Association (ABA) released the Alliance School Beverage Guidelines Final Progress Report, confirming that the beverage industry's major companies -- The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, Dr Pepper Snapple Group and their systems of local bottling companies that work directly with the school partners -- have transformed the beverage landscape in schools across America. The report was prepared by the independent firm Keybridge Research, LLC, which has prepared the previous two progress reports.