“The core elements of the sustainability strategy are not some in parallel hobby or nice-to-have, they’re central elements to the business,” said James Quincey, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Coca-Cola Co., during the recent Morgan Stanley Global Consumer and Retail Conference. “The biggest factor in climate is ultimately energy. To the extent that we can buy green energy, great if it’s competitive. To the extent that we can use less energy because we have thinner packaging or more efficient plants or more efficient trucks, the better off we’ll be. So, it is an intersection of what’s important societally, but also what’s necessary for the business.”
In 2022, Coca-Cola outlined sustainable packaging goals that included 100% of its packaging being recyclable globally by 2025, and to use at least 50% recycled material in packaging by 2030. Those objectives have been removed and replaced by new packaging goals. Food Business News reached out to Coca-Cola for clarification about what happened to the 2022 sustainable packaging goals, and the company declined to comment.
Coca-Cola’s new sustainable packaging objectives include the use of 35% to 40% recycled material in primary packaging (plastic, glass, and aluminum) and increasing recycled plastic use to 30% to 35% globally. The company also aims to ensure the collection of 70% to 75% of the equivalent number of bottles and cans introduced into the market annually.
Coca-Cola added that 95% of its primary packaging is currently designed to be recycled and that it’s aiming to resolve the remaining packages. The company noted costs, quality, and scaling innovation are dynamic external factors that will affect implementation of this goal.
In response to the removal of Coca-Cola’s 2025 target goals for sustainable packaging, the environmental advocacy group Break Free From Plastic issued a statement saying, “The company’s new announcement includes no mention of its (prior) reusable commitment as if it never existed.”
In that same statement, Von Hernandez, global coordinator of Break Free From Plastic, added, “If (Coca-Cola) can’t even keep their low-bar commitments, how can they claim to be serious about addressing the global plastic crisis?”
Water
Coca-Cola’s water goals aim to return more than 100% of the water used in finished products globally, on an aggregate level, to nature and communities. Since 2015, the company claims to have met or exceeded this goal. Because water is sourced locally for production, the company also is seeking to return 100% of the total water used in each of the more than 200 high-risk locations across the Coca‑Cola system, which represent almost a third of the company’s systems locations globally.
Emissions
Coca-Cola aims to reduce its Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions from its own operations — including concentrating manufacturing and company-owned bottling partners — in line with a 1.5°C trajectory by 2035, from a 2019 baseline.
The company’s acquired businesses will be excluded from this goal, including BodyArmor, Chi, Costa, doğadan, fairlife and innocent. Coca-Cola expects to prepare these businesses for integration into its 1.5°C trajectory over time.
Executives at Coca-Cola said while the company will no longer have a voluntary goal on agriculture, it seeks to continue initiatives and programs with suppliers and third-party stakeholders to support sustainable sourcing of agricultural ingredients. These actions are intended to reduce water use and emissions to help prevent deforestation and conserve high-risk areas in the supply chain.
The company plans to continue reporting annually on its sustainability progress. It also intends to evaluate its actions, market dynamics, additional learnings and stakeholder needs regularly to maintain close alignment of 2035 goals with business priorities and the company’s progress.
