The Coca-Cola Company Announces New Global Vision to Help Create a World Without Waste
The Coca-Cola
Company announced today that it is fundamentally reshaping its approach to
packaging, with a global goal to help collect and recycle the equivalent of
100% of its
packaging by 2030.
This goal is the
centerpiece of the Company’s new packaging vision for a World Without Waste,
which the Coca-Cola system intends to back with a multi-year investment that
includes ongoing work to make packaging 100% recyclable. This begins with the
understanding that food and beverage containers are an important part of
people’s modern lives but that there is much more to be done to reduce
packaging waste globally.
“The world has a
packaging problem – and, like all companies, we have a responsibility to help
solve it,” said James Quincey, President and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.
“Through our World Without Waste vision, we are investing in our planet and our
packaging to help make this problem a thing of the past.”
The Company and
its bottling partners are pursuing several key goals:
• Investing in the planet: By 2030, for
every bottle or can the Coca-Cola system sells globally, we aim to help take
one back so it has more than one life. The Company is investing its marketing
dollars and skills behind this 100% collection goal to help people understand
what, how and where to
recycle. We will
support collection of packaging across the industry, including bottles and cans
from other companies. The Coca-Cola system will work with local communities,
industry partners, our
customers, and
consumers to help address issues like packaging litter and marine debris.
• Investing in packaging: To achieve its
collection goal, The Coca-Cola Company is continuing to work toward making all
of its packaging 100% recyclable globally. The Company is building better
bottles, whether through more recycled content, by developing plant-based
resins, or by reducing the amount of plastic in each container. By 2030, the
Coca-Cola system also aims to make bottles with an average of 50% recycled
content. The goal is to set a new global standard for beverage packaging.
Currently, the majority of the Company’s packaging is recyclable.
World Without
Waste is the next step in the Company’s ongoing sustainability efforts,
building off success in replenishing an estimated 100% of the water it uses in
its final beverages. The Company
achieved and
exceeded its water replenishment goal in 2015, five years ahead of
expectations. These efforts are part of the Company’s larger strategy to grow
with conscience, by becoming a total beverage company that grows the right way.
“Bottles and cans
shouldn’t harm our planet, and a litter-free world is possible,” Quincey said.
“Companies like ours must be leaders. Consumers around the world care about our
planet, and they want and expect companies to take action. That’s exactly what
we’re going to do, and we invite others to join us on this critical journey.”
The Coca-Cola
Company will work to achieve these goals with the help of several global
partners: the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy initiative, The
Ocean Conservancy/Trash Free Seas Alliance and World Wildlife Fund (The
Cascading Materials Vision and Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance). Coca-Cola will
also launch efforts with new partners at the regional and local level and
plans to work
with its key customers to help motivate consumers to recycle more packaging.
“We would like to
encourage everyone to recycle as part of a circular economy, where plastic,
glass,
and aluminum are
reused or repurposed as many times as possible, rather than being used once and
then thrown away. We look forward to working with the industry, local
communities, NGOs, government organizations, and even our critics to highlight
this critical issue. When we all come together to help solve this problem,
collectively we will make a bigger difference than if we simply act alone,”
said Winn Everhart, President & General Manager of Coca-Cola Philippines.
The Coca-Cola
System in the Philippines has already started on the journey towards achieving
this goal through their active participation with the Philippine Alliance for
Recycling and Materials Sustainability (PARMS) – a multi-stakeholder coalition
supported by the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) and
composed of the top corporations in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG)
sector. Recently, Coca-Cola and other members of PARMS announced their
commitment to work with government and non-government organizations in
developing a sustainable solid waste management program in the country,
starting with its plan to build a state of the art materials recovery and
reprocessing facility.
To
learn more, visit Coca-Cola Journey at
http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/world-without-
waste.
0 comments