Coca-Cola works to meet tough reusable packaging goals

In its recently released fourth-quarter and full-year 2021 earnings report, The Coca-Cola Company announced a new global goal to increase the percentage of reusable packaging to 25% by 2030
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The company defines reusable packaging as reusable containers, including reusable or recyclable glass and plastic bottles
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Coca-Cola said the new initiative will reduce the company's carbon footprint while aligning with consumers' preference for sustainable packaging options, as a complement to its Waste-Free World initiative
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In 2020, 16 percent of Coca-Cola's packaging was reusable, and 90 percent of its reusable glass and plastic containers were collected that year, according to Reuters
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Raising the ratio to 25% was the first known target and a welcome change in strategy, Green Century Capital Management told Reuters
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In November, Green Century and the advocacy group As You Sow submitted a proposal to shareholders asking Coca-Cola to reduce its use of single-use plastic
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Following Coca-Cola's statement, As You Sow said it may consider withdrawing the proposal after further analysis of the details of the company's goals
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Oceana, an international advocacy group, gave faint praise, saying the announcement was a "step in the right direction" but added that the process needed greater transparency
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Oceana asked the company for more details
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"We hope this means we can see reusable bottles in key markets soon
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According to a 2020 report by Oceana, a 10% increase in global use of reusable bottles could prevent up to 7 billion PET plastic bottles from polluting the ocean
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Of course, Oceana doesn't mention that PET bottles are 100% recyclable, a problem that would be largely solved if consumers put them in proper recycling bins instead of throwing them into nature
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Another campaign group, Break Free From Plastic, praised Coca-Cola's goals less tamely
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Emma Priestland, global corporate events coordinator, said the 25 percent target was a huge win for environmentalists
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She noted that Coca-Cola has been the world's worst plastic polluter for four years in a row, according to an audit conducted by Break Free From Plastics
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"Coca-Cola has a responsibility to address the dire effects of plastic pollution
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It's time for them to realize that reusable packaging is the key to solving this crisis
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We hope other companies will follow Coca-Cola's lead and set similar goals
," Priestland said
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We'll hear more on the subject when the United Nations meets in Nairobi at the end of the month on environmental issues
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A global plastics treaty will be at the center of discussions, with more than 70 major companies, including Coca-Cola, having signed a business statement calling for a legally binding UN treaty on plastic pollution
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Among other things, it calls for a cut in the production of virgin plastic
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