WORLD WITHOUT WASTE - SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING

The KeelClip packaging solution made from recyclable cardboard replaces plastic rings for multi-packs

Eco-friendly packaging solutions for a World Without Waste

The interconnected global challenges of packaging waste and climate change have made this a focus for our business and communities. Our company and our bottling partners are taking a hard look at the packaging we use and how we can drive change.

Our sustainable packaging strategy aims to create systemic change through a circular economy for our packaging - from how bottles and cans are designed and manufactured to how they’re recycled and reused. 

We have a responsibility to help solve the global plastic waste crisis, and we’re leveraging our scale and reach across markets to reach our sustainability goals, suppress waste pollution and reduce our carbon footprint.

We launched World Without Waste in 2018​ which centers around three primary goals:

World Without Waste Goals:

Design

Making 100% of our packaging recyclable globally by 2025—and using at least 50% recycled material in our packaging by 2030.

New Sustainable Packaging Design

Collect

Collect and recycle a bottle or can for each one we sell by 2030​.

Coca-Cola recycling bin as part of the World without Waste program

Partner

Bring people together to support a​ healthy, debris-free environment.​

World without waste

61% of the equivalent bottles and cans we introduced into the market in 2022 were collected and refilled or collected for recycling.

The collection rate represents the average collection rate for select primary consumer packaging, which is the percentage of our packaging that was collected for recycling (or refill).

Recycling collectors in Brazil sort and bag materials

90% of our packaging is recyclable globally

We deliver our beverages in a variety of packaging formats—from glass and PET bottles, to aluminum cans, to refillable packaging. Since glass, aluminum and PET plastic are all recyclable materials, they all can play a role in a circular economy.

Recyclable plastic bits

Partnering to reduce waste

Global challenges like plastic waste and pollution are far too great for any single government, company, or industry to solve individually. To achieve a World Without Waste, The Coca‑Cola Company is partnering with experts, nonprofits, our industry, and governments to support innovation and actions toward sustainable change across the packaging supply chain.

Bottles of Panta Mig Igen brand

More than 40 markets currently offer at least one brand in 100% recycled PET (rPET) packaging*

We are working hard towards creating a World Without Waste by increasing our use of recycled content in markets across the globe.

*Excludes cap and label 

A lineup of different sized Dasani bottles made of 100% recycled plastic

Timeline

Conducted first study examining environmental impact of beverage and food packaging

Introduced lightweight, resealable – and recyclable – 2-liter polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottle

Introduced first-ever plastic bottle made with recycled content

Co-founded Ocean Conservancy Trash Free Seas Alliance

Formed PET Recycling Company (PETCO), the South African plastic industry’s initiative to recycle 100% of its PET plastic output

Introduced PlantBottle, using 30% plant-based materials in place of petroleum

Invested in major expansion of PetStar, now the largest food-grade PET bottle-to-bottle recycling plant in the world

Developed new packaging strategy

Launched World Without Waste initiative at World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland

Introduced Mexican bottled water brand Ciel in 100% recycled plastic bottles

Signed joint framework with UN Environment to curb plastic waste in Southeast Asia

Launched South African PETCO model in Kenya, in partnership with Kenya Association of Manufacturers

Co-founded UK Plastics Pact, bringing together stakeholders from across the entire plastics value chain to tackle plastic waste

Co-founded World Economic Forum Global Plastic Action Partnership

Invested in Circulate Capital, an impact-investment firm aiming to keep plastic waste out of the world’s oceans

Shared proprietary technology behind PlantBottle to foster bioplastics in packaging

Entered loan agreement with Ioniqa Technologies to transform hard-to-recycle plastic waste into high-quality, food-grade PET plastic

Nine new companies joined Reciclar pelo Brasil, making the co-investment platform - co-founded with AB InBev in 2017 - the largest of its kind, with 15 members and 250 cooperatives

The Coca‑Cola Foundation announced USD $5.4 million in grants to support innovative recycling pilots in seven U.S. locales

Initiated the creation of PETCO Ethiopia—the Ethiopian plastic industry’s initiative to recycle 100% of its PET plastic output

Coca‑Cola Vietnam partnered with several leading food and beverage companies to establish the country’s first industry-led Packaging Recovery Organization

The Coca‑Cola Australia Foundation announced grants of up to USD $600,000 to tackle marine pollution in Australian coastal and inland waterways

Coca‑Cola Beverages Philippines (CCBP) announced investment in a new bottle-to-bottle recycling facility that will be operational in 2021

ALBA Group Asia Limited, Baguio Waste Management & Recycling Limited and Swire Coca‑Cola Limited broke ground on a joint venture to build Hong Kong’s first food-grade PET and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic recycling plant

Coca‑Cola India joined peer companies as a key stakeholder to set up India’s first industry-formed, -owned and -managed multi-material packaging recycling organization — Circular Sustainability Solutions Private Limited — with the goal of collecting half a million metric tons of used packaging by 2025

Introduced the first bottle made from 25% marine plastic, collected from the Mediterranean Sea and beaches, in partnership with Indorama Ventures, Ioniqa Technologies and Mares Circulares

Jointly launched with GA Circular a first-of-its-kind comparative study examining Southeast Asia’s PET plastic bottle collection and recycling landscape — and provided a road map for action to accelerate the circular economy in the region

Introduced minimalist paperboard packaging solution KeelClip™ for multipack cans in Europe, expected to save 2,000 tons of plastic and 3,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually

PRAISE (Packaging and Recycling Alliance for Indonesia Sustainable Environment) announced the Packaging Recovery Organization for Indonesia to improve plastic collection and recycling

The Coca‑Cola Foundation and the Benioff Ocean Initiative announced an $11 million partnership to fund nine river plastic waste prevention programs around the world over the next three years

As of end of year 2019, 16 markets offered beverages packaged in 100% recycled PET (rPET) bottles

Nearly 30 markets offer beverages packaged in 100% recycled PET (rPET) bottles*
*Excludes cap & label

Set a new goal to reduce our use of virgin plastic derived from non-renewable sources by a cumulative 3 million metric tons over the next five years

Announced new global reusable packaging goal.

By 2030, we aim to have at least 25% of our beverages sold by volume worldwide in refillable/returnable glass or plastic bottles or in fountain dispensers with reusable packaging.