In 2019, Coca‑Cola HBC was again named Europe’s most sustainable beverage company by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Within its Sustainability Mission 2025, one of the commitments and its actions target a circular economy. Together with The Coca-Cola Company it has made good progress in making its packaging have more than one life. By working towards a World Without Waste Coca-Cola HBC is committed to collect and recycle all the packs that it puts on the market. Achieving that goal requires collective action from many stakeholders, and the company is working proactively to help drive these changes.

Key achievements:

  • 99.9% of its primary packaging is already recyclable
  • Working to increase use of recycled PET across all packaging. Of the PET material used in packaging in 2019, 12% was from renewable or recycled materials. It is working to increase this percentage to 35% by 2025 and to 50% by 2030
  • PET bottles out of 100% recycled material introduced in Austria, Croatia, Ireland, Romania and Switzerland
  • Nearly half, 48%, of its bottles and cans placed on the market in 2019 were either refilled or collected for recycling
  • Seven zero waste partnerships and brand messaging to encourage and promote recycling
  • It also partners with other organisations and uses brand messaging to encourage consumers to reuse and recycle
  • Innovative design is a key part of reducing packaging waste. By light-weighting its bottles, it reduces the total PET used across its portfolio by approximately 25% vs a 2010 baseline. 6000t less PET used through bottle light-weighing than in 2018
  • Replacing plastic packaging for multi-pack cans with KeelClip™ paperboard packaging solution. This innovative, minimalist packaging will roll out in Austria, Ireland, Poland and Romania in 2020, and in its remaining EU markets by the end of 2021

Coca-Cola HBC’s 2025 commitments for a World Without Waste:

  • help collect the equivalent of 75% of its primary packaging
  • 35% of total PET used from recycled PET and/or PET from renewable material
  • 100% of consumer packaging to be recyclable

Learn more about it here.

Coca-Cola HBC commits to Net Zero Emissions by 2040:

Coca-Cola HBC will reduce its direct emissions to an absolute minimum and will work in partnership with its suppliers to eliminate the 90% of its carbon footprint that results from third parties. This commitment is based on concrete actions:

  • Investing around €250 million over the first five years of the plan by 2025
  • Decarbonising its own operations: By 2030, Coca-cola HBC will reduce all its emissions by a quarter versus 2017, and then by more than half in the remaining ten years. It will do so by switching to 100% renewable electricity and low carbon energy sources through continuous improvements and innovations in energy efficiency
  • Accelerating its circular packaging approach by further increasing rPET use, adopting packageless and refillable options, removing/replacing plastics in secondary packaging with low carbon alternatives
  • Deploying energy-efficient and eco-friendly coolers to its customers
  • Reducing emissions from agricultural ingredients
  • Implementing a “Green Fleet” programme to switch its fleet to low and no carbon alternatives
  • Partnering and collaborating with suppliers

Read more here.

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