Coca-Cola, a company often criticized for its role in plastic pollution, is taking steps to reduce its environmental impact. The company has announced that it will make all versions of its namesake soda sold in 20-ounce bottles from 100% recycled plastic, a move that marks a significant milestone in its efforts to achieve its goal of making half of its portfolio produced from recycled material by 2030.
This change is part of Coca-Cola’s broader sustainability initiative, which includes a commitment to make 100% of its packaging recyclable globally by 2025 and to use at least 50% recycled material in packaging by 2030. The company has already made progress in this area, with 90% of its packaging currently recyclable globally and the use of 23% recycled material.
The switch to 100% recycled plastic bottles is expected to reduce the company’s plastic usage by 83 million pounds in the US, equivalent to two billion bottles. While this is a significant step forward, some experts argue that it is still not enough to address the scale of the plastic pollution problem.
Coca-Cola’s sustainability efforts are not limited to packaging. The company has also committed to reducing its carbon footprint, aiming to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030. It is also working to reduce its water footprint, with a goal of replenishing the water it uses in its beverages and production processes by 2020.
However, despite these efforts, Coca-Cola was named the world’s top plastic polluter for the sixth-consecutive year in 2023 by the environmental organization Break Free from Plastic. The company’s waste count was 33,830, out of 537,719 pieces of plastic waste the non-profit audited across 40 countries, with Coca-Cola bottles being the most common item found discarded, often in public spaces such as parks and beaches.
The watchdog group said the beverage giant’s changes are the “bare minimum” the company can do. “Plastic recycling is never going to make a dent in the plastic pollution crisis — plastic was never designed to be recycled, and it cannot be recycled indefinitely,” Emma Priestland, global corporate campaigns coordinator of Break Free from Plastic, told CNN. “Coke already knows that real solutions look like reusable glass bottles in scalable reuse systems. Coca-Cola needs to urgently and dramatically reduce its use of plastic — full stop,” she said.
In summary, Coca-Cola’s efforts to reduce its environmental impact are a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done to address the scale of the plastic pollution problem. The company’s sustainability efforts are part of a broader trend in the industry, with many companies facing growing pressure from consumers and governments to reduce their environmental impact. However, some critics argue that the industry’s reliance on single-use plastics is a major contributor to the problem and that more radical changes are needed.