Ocean Conservator Trash Talks Coca-Cola

Oceana, an international advocacy group focused on ocean conservation, is slamming Coca-Cola for slow progress in boosting the amount of reusable packaging in its portfolio.

The global brand owner made a commitment in 2022 to have at least 25% of its beverages worldwide in refillable/returnable glass or plastic bottles, or in fountain dispensers with reusable packaging, by 2030.

The recently released “2023 Environmental Update” from Coca-Cola indicates the company filled 14% of its total beverage volume into reusable packaging in 2023. That’s the same percentage as in 2022 — and lower than in 2020, when reusable packaging represented about 16% of the company’s total volume.

“The numbers in the company’s recent ‘Environmental Update’ make it clear — Coca-Cola is not on track to meet its reuse goal, which is terrible news for the oceans,” said Oceana senior vice president Matt Littlejohn in a prepared statement.

Littlejohn holds the company to provide more transparency.

“The company has failed to make progress, and none of its largest bottlers have made the commitments needed to reach this goal,” he said. “It’s time for the company to disclose to its investors and customers exactly how it will meet its 25% goal by 2030. More reusable packaging means less single-use plastic."

Oceana has been campaigning for the increase of refillable bottles by Coca-Cola and the soft drink industry since 2020 when it released a report that found a 10% increase in the use of refillable bottles worldwide could prevent as many as 7 billion plastic PET bottles from polluting the oceans. In this X (then Twitter) post, it took the company to task in a November 10, 2021, press release .

Coca-Cola responds: 100-million-unit case increase.

Between 2022 and 2023, Coca-Cola’s reusable-packaging use did increase when measured by unit cases.

“In 2023, we served 14% of total beverage volume in reusable packaging and, while sales of finished products served in reusable packaging increased by more than 100-million-unit cases compared to 2022, business growth outpaced our efforts to increase total beverage volume” in reusable packaging, a Coca-Cola spokesperson tells PlasticsToday.

The shortfall doesn't appear to be from lack of effort or financial support. This February 2023 press release posted on then Twitter reported that Coca-Cola Europacific Partners in Germany invested more than 40 million euros ($44.33 million) in refillable bottling infrastructure.

Oceana also criticized Coca-Cola’s reusable packaging performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics, citing the use of single-use plastic bottles for some beverages served.

At the games, Coca-Cola used beverage fountains where feasible, pouring drinks into reusable/returnable cups provided and managed by the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee.

In venues that couldn’t support fountains, the company poured drinks from recycled plastic bottles or returnable glass bottles into the reusable cups. It then collected the single-use bottles for recycling or refilling.

“The scale and complexity of the Olympic and Paralympic Games provide a unique opportunity to test and learn about packaging distribution, and we look forward to collecting learnings from Paris 2024,” the Coca-Cola spokesperson says.

The role of Coca-Cola bottlers.

Oceana also took aim at Coca-Cola bottlers worldwide, claiming that the brand’s bottlers recently reported reusable packaging use — as a percentage of total sales volume — was less than when Coca-Cola made its reusable-packaging commitment in 2022.

The situation is mixed for some bottlers, with their reusable-packaging percentages down but still well above Coca-Cola’s 25% goal. For example, Coca-Cola Fomento Económico Mexicano (FEMSA), one of the two largest users of refillable bottles in the Coca-Cola system, reported that the returnable/reusable share of its total sales declined from 34% in 2021 to 32% two years later.

“Our first approach has been our dedication to extending the lifecycle of our packaging,” Coca-Cola FEMSA’s 2023 Integrated Report states. “In 2023, 32% of our volume was generated from returnable/reusable bottles, surpassing the Coca-Cola System's 25% target by 2030.”

The report continues, “We are committed to enhancing this initiative, ensuring that the benefits of returnable/refillable packaging for the environment and our consumers continue to grow.”

Like Coca-Cola, the bottler is also targeting sustainability in other ways, such as using easily recycled materials and more recycled plastic in its packaging and boosting recycling capacity.