After Coca-Cola abandoned its publicly announced reusable packaging target at the end of 2024, the company was heavily criticised. Now the company has made a U-turn - it wants to increase the use of reusable packaging again after all.
In 2022, Coca-Cola announced that it would sell at least 25 per cent of its beverages worldwide in reusable packaging by 2030. However, this target quietly disappeared from the company's website at the end of 2024. Instead, Coca-Cola formulated a new, weaker packaging target: by 2035, 30-35 per cent of packaging is to be made from recycled materials and 70-75 per cent of bottles and cans are to be collected.
The change was made without public communication - which met with massive criticism from environmental organisations. In particular, the removal of the reusable target was seen as a signal that Coca-Cola had abandoned ambitious sustainability plans.
„Masterclass in greenwashing“
Green Century, a US finance company specialising in sustainable investments, sharply criticised the decision. President Leslie Samuelrich explained according to Packaging Dive:
„Coca-Cola's decision to reverse its reusability targets is a masterclass in greenwashing.“
Previously, Coca-Cola had repeatedly positioned itself as a pioneer of sustainable packaging solutions. Critics have labelled the company's move away from its reusable ambitions as incomprehensible and counterproductive - especially in light of global efforts to reduce single-use plastic.
Group announces new turnaround - but without clear figures
In the meantime, Coca-Cola has reacted to the public criticism and announced its intention to focus more on reusable packaging systems in future. The company stated that it wanted to „utilise reusable packaging in even more markets and offer a wider range of product formats that are compatible with reusable systems“.
Concrete targets or a timetable were not mentioned. The wording remains general - and not very tangible for observers. It therefore remains to be seen whether the Group will set itself more binding targets in the future.
Coca Cola under further pressure
According to the NGO Break Free From Plastic as the world's largest producer of plastic packaging waste. According to the organisation, the Group produces around 3.5 million tonnes of plastic packaging every year.
The new announcement comes amid growing global demands for binding targets to reduce single-use plastic. At an international summit on plastic strategy in South Korea, representatives from almost 200 countries were recently unable to agree on concrete measures - which means that the pressure on major brand companies to actively take responsibility is growing all the more.
