Coca-Cola lowers reusable plastic packaging goal, sparking criticism

Accused of being one of the world’s leading producers of plastic pollutants, The Coca-Cola Company has decided to scale back its reusable packaging sustainability goals by 25 percent by 2035. Known as a global beverage giant selling its refreshing products in over 200 countries, the company has drawn sharp criticism from environmental activists, with some calling for a worldwide boycott of its beverages and other products.

The leading beverage company announced a revised plan for its reusable plastic packaging target this week. According to this updated plan, The Coca-Cola Company now aims to use 35-40 percent recycled materials to meet its packaging needs by 2035, a significant reduction from its earlier goal of 50 percent by 2030. However, the total volume of plastic required for packaging beverages and other products remains undisclosed.

It is worth noting that in 2018, The Coca-Cola Company pledged to the equivalent of every bottle it produced globally. This target has since been adjusted, with the company now aiming to collect 70-75 percent of bottles and cans it introduces into the market annually.

The Coca-Cola Company’s soft drinks brand include Coca-Cola, Sprite, and Fanta; Water brands such as Dasani, smartwater, and vitaminwater; Sports drinks named Powerade and Bodyarmor; Coffee and tea as Costa, Georgia, Gold Peak, and Ayataka; and Juice, dairy, and plant-based drinks as Minute Made, Simply, innocent, Del Valle, fairlife, and AdeS.

Updated voluntary environmental goals
The Coca-Cola Company announced updated voluntary environmental goals, which replace previous environmental goals set by the company related to water, packaging, climate and agriculture. This evolution is informed by learnings gathered through decades of work in sustainability, periodic assessment of progress and identified challenges. Achieving these ambitions will require continued investments in innovation and infrastructure solutions, enabling legislation and further collaboration with bottling partners, industry peers, local governments and civil society.

The company is prioritizing goals and actions that seek to improve water security in high-risk locations, reduce packaging waste and decrease emissions, and is extending the timeframe to 2035. The updated goals aim to build long-term business resilience and make a positive impact in local communities. Achieving these ambitions will require continued investments in innovation and infrastructure solutions, enabling legislation and further collaboration with bottling partners, industry peers, local governments and civil society.

“We remain committed to building long-term business resilience and earning our social license to operate through our evolved voluntary environmental goals. These challenges are complex and require us to drive more effective and efficient resource allocation and work collaboratively with partners to deliver lasting positive impact,” said Bea Perez, Executive Vice President (Sustainability and Strategic Partnerships) for the Coca Cola Company.

Packaging
The company statement said that it now aims to use 35-40 percent of recycled material in primary packaging (plastic, glass, and aluminium), including increasing recycled plastic use to 30-35 percent globally. Furthermore, it helps ensure the collection of 70-75 percent of the equivalent number of bottles and cans introduced into the market annually.

Presently, the company offers beverages in a variety of packaging formats – glass and plastic bottles, aluminum cans and refillable packaging. Each option can play a role in helping reduce packaging waste and emissions. The company is focusing its efforts to use more recycled material in primary packaging and supporting collection rates, both of which require enabling policies and the growth of collection infrastructure. The Coca-Cola Company intends to continue to invest in refillable packaging where infrastructure already exists.

Design and partner to collect
The Coca Cola system aims to focus on measurable and interconnected actions under two pillars: Design and Partner to Collect. In the design category the company focuses on ensuring that its primary packaging is recyclable. Almost all (more than 95 percent) of the company’s primary consumer packaging is designed to be recycled, and it is working to resolve the remaining packages.

However, the use of recycled content in primary packaging can help reduce the company’s emissions. This effort, combined with innovations such as light-weighting, can avoid the additional use of virgin plastic. Costs, quality and scaling innovation are dynamic external factors that will affect implementation.

The collection and recycling of beverage packaging remains challenging, as every state and country has unique systems, infrastructure, regulatory environments and sets of consumer behaviours. Collective action is needed to support packaging collection infrastructure and policies. The company will continue to focus on increased advocacy for well-designed collection systems, as these are often the most efficient ways to improve packaging collection rates.

The Coca-Cola Company reaches its 70-75 percent collection rate ambition it intends to continue working to further increase collection over the long term. The company also intends to invest to expand the use of refillable packaging in markets where infrastructure is in place to support this important part of the company’s portfolio.

Through collaboration with local and global partners, the company will continue to expand its design innovations, explore new collection models or improve existing ones, invest in local infrastructure and engage with policymakers. Additionally, Coke is also changing its recycling goal.

Criticism from environmental groups
The downward revision in the sustainability target for reusable plastic material has been criticized by several environmental groups. Australian philanthropy Minderoo Foundation found in its recent report that The Coca-Cola Company is producing record volume of plastic despite the beverages company’s efforts are stated to be more sustainable for collection and reuse. The report further reads that plastic is problematic for the environmental degradation because it’s mostly made from polymers originated from fossil fuel.

Environmental group Oceana termed The Coca-Cola Company’s revised target as ‘short-sighted, irresponsible’, and worthy of widespread condemnation due to its post-use irresponsibly disposal which creates environmental degradation including marine health. “The company’s new and weak recycling-related pledges won’t make a dent in its overall plastic use. Coca-Cola’s investors and governments around the world should take notice and take steps to hold the company accountable,” said Matt Littlejohn, Oceana’s Senior Vice President (Strategic Initiatives).


Disclaimer: While Polymerupdate has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in this article, the publication assumes no responsibility for any inaccuracies that may exist. Readers are encouraged to verify the facts mentioned in this report directly with The Coca-Cola Company before making any business decisions based on this article.


By Dr. Sajjid Mitha (Founder and CEO)
POLYMERUPDATE / POLYMERUPDATE ACADEMY / RACE CONFERENCES
sajjid.mitha@polymerupdate.com