Coca-Cola pivots climate goals away from reducing single-use plastic

The Coca-Cola Co. will no longer focus on reducing virgin and single-use plastic — and instead pivot its climate goals to focus more heavily on the use of recycled materials.

By 2035, the company said it aims to increase the use of recycled plastic in packaging between 30%-35% and “help ensure the collection of 70%-75% of the equivalent number of bottles and cans introduced into the market annually,” the Washington Post reported.

The announcement came on Monday, just days after the U.N. global plastics treaty negotiations failed to produce an agreement, according to the Post. The treaty would’ve been aimed at reducing plastic pollution, with negotiators in the room from more than 170 countries.

Coca-Cola is one of the world’s top contributors to plastic pollution, the Post reported, accounting for 11% of branded plastic pollution worldwide, according to a study published in April. PepsiCo came in second place, with Nestlé in third and Danone in fourth, the Post said.

The company is facing “challenges that are complex” as its sustainability goals are evolving, Bea Perez, an executive vice president, said in the announcement, according to the Post.

In an email, the Post said a Coca-Cola spokesperson said “the company is focusing its efforts to use more recycled material in primary packaging and supporting collection rates.”

Previously, the Post said Coca-Cola had pledged to reduce the “use of virgin plastic derived from non-renewable sources by a cumulative 3 million metric tons from 2020 to 2025” and sell 25% of its beverages in refillable or returnable packaging by 2030.

But the company did not reduce the use of virgin plastic between 2020-23, the spokesperson said, according to the Post, because of “business growth,” and sold 14% of its product in reusable packaging last year, according to the company’s 2023 sustainability report.

“They had a real solution, and they walked away from that,” said Matt Littlejohn, senior vice president at Oceana, an international advocacy organization, according to the Post. “It’s bad news for the environment and the oceans.”

He said it’s “incredibly disappointing” that Coca-Cola has pivoted.

“Now they’re leaning into using recycled packaging, but those bottles still get thrown away,” Littlejohn said.