Coca-Cola set to launch paper bottles to reduce carbon in its value chain
Only a few companies are built for long-term success, and only a few more are positioned to continue to endure challenging historical moments by remaining grounded in innovative values. Coca-Cola is one of those companies with track record of leadership, of resilience, and of doing the right thing, no matter whether the times are good or when challenges exist.
To further drive its social and environmental priorities toward becoming carbon neutral, The Coca-Cola Company is set to create a bottle made 100% from paper, an innovative packaging technology that may help the global beverage giant achieve a World Without Waste.
A statement by Coca-Cola, said: “Imagine a world where each and every piece of packaging produced and sold is also collected and recycled after use – a World Without Waste. That’s our stated goal: we aim to collect and recycle a bottle or can for every one we sell by 2030, while also substantially reducing our use of virgin packaging materials, and only using packaging materials that are 100% recyclable.
“It will take continuing investment in innovation, exploration of different technologies and, crucially, partnership and collaboration to get there. This is fundamental to our approach, across both the collection and recycling of our packaging but also its design.
“As part of this, we have been working to explore the concept of a paper bottle with our partner, Paboco, and the three other companies in the Paboco Pioneer Community. And we are now at the stage of a first-generation prototype ready that we believe can play a part in helping to achieve our goal of a World Without Waste.”
Commenting on the latest innovation, Amaka Onyemelukwe, Head Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability, said: “At Coca-Cola, we are working to create a bottle made 100% from paper- an innovative packaging technology that may help us achieve a World Without Waste. We are deeply excited about the progress we’ve made; we also recognise that a lot of work still needs to be done.”
Also commenting, Kehinde Ruth Onasoga, CEO, Pandora Agency Limited, said: “Glad to know Coca-Cola is actively looking to eliminate the use of plastics in their products. This will go a long way toward reducing its carbon footprint. Here’s to more sustainable innovations by The Coca Cola Company.”
Commending the innovation in the same vein, Rukevwe Toka, People Data Center Leader, West Africa at Unilever, said: “Such good news! Thumbs up to you and the team, this is the kind of innovation that cares for people and planet.”
Stijn Franssen, EMEA R&D Packaging Innovation Manager at Coca-Cola, who is working on the project, said: “Our vision is to create a paper bottle than can be recycled like any other type of paper, and this prototype is the first step on the way to achieving this. A paper bottle opens up a whole new world of packaging possibilities, and we are convinced that paper packaging has a role to play in the future.”
He hinted that a lot of work still must be done to achieve this vision of a recyclable paper bottle, noting that the first-generation paper bottle still contains some plastic.
“This first-generation paper bottle prototype still consists of a paper shell with a plastic closure and a plastic liner inside. The plastic we use is made from 100% recycled plastic that can be recycled again after use. But our vision is to create a paper bottle that can be recycled like any paper. The next step is to find a solution to create a bottle without the plastic liner,” Stijn noted.
“We also reflect on how our consumers will react to this paper bottle. Topics like when and where it could be sold and how it can be recycled are all considered. The bottle must be explored from every perspective to ensure that we make the bottle the best it can be,” Stijn further explained.
In a separate statement, the company said: “At Coca-Cola, we continue to evaluate and make changes in our operations and throughout the Coca-Cola system value chain to reduce our climate impact. This is reflected in our decision to bring several sustainability initiatives under one goal to reduce the carbon footprint of the “drink in your hand” by 25 percent by 2020, a goal we set in 2013.
“Progress toward reducing the greenhouse gas emissions across our manufacturing processes, packaging formats, delivery fleet, refrigeration equipment and ingredient sourcing is now being measured toward the “drink in your hand” goal.”
The statement continued: “In order to master the most important global challenges that affect our industry, our society and our planet, we bundle our resources and invest in areas that are particularly relevant to the common good. This includes ecological packaging and recycling, climate protection and energy as well as water and spring protection, but also health and nutrition as well as inclusion and diversity. Our six key focus areas reflect our value chain: reducing emissions; water use and stewardship; Packaging (World Without Waste); ingredient sourcing; nutrition; and our people and communities.”
“We act in ways to create a more sustainable and better shared future; to make a difference in people’s lives, communities and our planet by doing business the right way. Our ‘drink in your hand’ goal was set in 2013 to take a bigger step toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions across our full value chain. To date, we have cut our carbon footprint by 24% toward our target of a 25% reduction by the end of 2020, against a 2010 baseline,” the statement added.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the rates of global CO2 increased by 7.4 percent between 1990 and 2013, and traffic emissions and industry accounted for almost 60 percent of those extra CO2 fumes.
In 2014, The Coca-Cola Company discovered that its global fleet of trucks emitted approximately 3.7 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, and the company started powering its trucks with a mix of alternative fuels, including biodiesel, natural gas and electric power.
Though they currently compose a small portion of the company’s fleet, Coca-Cola continues to add delivery trucks powered with a mix of alternative fuels, including electricity, natural gas, diesel electric and biodiesel.
For over 125 years, the Coca-Cola Company has been sustainability-driven, which is being expressed through its packaging and recycling technique, water stewardship, employee development, energy and climate consciousness, and the health of millions of consumers all over the world.
The multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, operates in 28 countries across 3 continents and their products include Coca-Cola, Fanta, 5Alive, Sprite, Eva water and more.
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