Despite increasing public scrutiny and legal challenges regarding its plastic usage, Coca-Cola seems to be regressing in its commitment to packaging sustainability.
Source: FastCompany
Earlier in this decade, the beverage giant publicly vowed to reduce its reliance on virgin plastic and enhance the proportion of its products sold in reusable containers. However, in a recent blog post, the company quietly abandoned those targets. Coca-Cola’s newly “evolved” plastics strategy now appears to focus primarily on cleaning up existing plastic waste and recycling—though its recycling goals are now less ambitious than before.
This announcement aligns with a broader trend of companies retracting or failing to meet their plastics sustainability goals. A recent progress report from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation—a nonprofit that promotes a “circular economy” where resources are conserved—revealed that hundreds of companies have collectively fallen short of the necessary advancements to fulfill various voluntary plastics commitments by 2025.
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These companies pledged to reduce virgin plastic use by 18% compared to 2018 levels but have only managed a 3% decrease as of 2023. They committed to completely eliminating polyvinyl chloride—a type of plastic known for leaching harmful chemicals—but have only achieved a 1% reduction by weight. They also promised to increase the availability of reusable packaging, yet have made no progress toward that aim.
Sam Pearse, plastics campaign manager for the nonprofit Story of Stuff—which advocates for reusable options over single-use plastics—suggested that the trend indicates companies may not be serious about their plastic targets. A pledge seems to be “something they might attempt if circumstances allow … but it’s not integral to their business operations.”
Coca-Cola stands as one of the largest food and beverage companies globally, operating in over 200 countries and territories (there are only 195 UN-recognized nations), and generating $46 billion in net revenue last year. Beyond its flagship soda, the company produces Dasani bottled water, Fanta, Sprite, and around 200 other food and beverage brands.
Once you start seeing that cycle a number of times, it’s hard to not be skeptical about the intention
Coca-Cola also generates a substantial amount of plastic packaging—approximately 3.5 million metric tons annually, predominantly from fossil fuels. A significant portion of this plastic contributes to environmental pollution. For six consecutive years, Coca-Cola has been labeled the “top global plastic polluter,” according to beach cleanups organized by the nonprofit Break Free From Plastic. Last year, volunteers collected about 500,000 pieces of plastic waste, identifying Coca-Cola branding on around 33,000 of them across 40 countries.
Experts assert that transitioning from single-use plastics to reusable alternatives and capping virgin plastic production are two of the most effective strategies to mitigate plastic-related emissions and pollution. If reuse could replace just 10% of single-use plastic consumption, research indicates it could significantly reduce the amount of waste entering the ocean. Meanwhile, capping virgin plastic production is considered the most straightforward method of lowering plastic pollution—and might be preferable to merely increasing recycling rates, as recycled plastics can contain a greater number and higher concentration of hazardous chemicals. A recent study published in the journal Science found that implementing a global cap on plastic production would lead to more substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 compared to seven other strategies, including recycling targets and increased recycled content.
In each one of the cleanups that we organize—not only beach cleanups but in mangroves, rivers, mountains, and volcanoes—we find Coca-Cola bottles
Coca-Cola's pledges regarding virgin plastics reduction and reusable packaging were made in 2020 and 2022, respectively, following resolutions filed by shareholder advocacy groups that invest in companies to influence corporate practices.
The 2020 resolution, initiated by Green Century Capital Management, underscored the “reputational, market, regulatory, operational, climate, and competitive risks” associated with Coca-Cola’s involvement in plastic pollution. It urged the company to establish a goal for decreasing its plastic usage, which Coca-Cola accepted in exchange for the resolution's withdrawal prior to its presentation to shareholders. Coca-Cola stated it would reduce its use of virgin plastic from nonrenewable sources by 3 million metric tons by 2025.
