Rebecca Manzi Coca-Cola's failure to decisively address its reliance on single-use plastic represents a missed opportunity to demonstrate true environmental leadership
The Coca-Cola Company recently updated its environmental goals, but the new plan has been criticized for abandoning key commitments aimed at reducing single-use plastic. Abandoning its commitment to increase reusable packaging to 25% by 2030 and cut virgin plastic use by 3.3 million short tons by 2025 is a serious step backward in the struggle against plastic pollution.
The company has instead promised to focus on increasing the amount of recycled plastic in its packaging-to 35% by 2035-and collecting 70-75% of bottles and cans it puts on the market.
While these are laudable measures, they avoid the key issue, which is the continued manufacture of huge volumes of single-use plastic. Increasing the use of recycled materials does not compensate for the negative impact of heavy reliance on disposable products; neither does it significantly reduce the volume of plastic reaching the environment.
A missed opportunity
Plastic pollution in oceans and seas is one of the current global ecocatastrophes. For a number of years, Coca-Cola has been tagged by the “Break Free From Plastic Brand Audit” as the world’s largest plastic polluter, a reputation the brand has avoided taking responsibility for. By reneging on commitments to reduce virgin plastic usage and increase reusable packaging, the company is in danger of exacerbating the problem further.
If Coca-Cola had stuck to its goal of reaching 25% reusable packaging, more than 100 billion single-use 16.9-ounce bottles could have been avoided by 2030, significantly reducing plastic waste in waterways and oceans. This decision seems to be more about protecting short-term business models rather than investing in innovative solutions and reuse infrastructure.
Being the global leader, Coca-Cola thus carries a heavy responsibility in the area of driving change toward sustainability. Scaling back the most ambitious commitments calls the brand’s credibility into question and raises concerns about their seriousness in tackling plastic pollution seriously.
Source: The Coca-Cola Company
