Exclusive: Campaigners say company’s apparent abandoning of 2030 pledge is a ‘masterclass in greenwashing’

Coca-Cola has been accused of quietly abandoning a pledge to achieve a 25% reusable packaging target by 2030 in what campaigners call a “masterclass in greenwashing”.

The company has been previously found by researchers to be among the world’s most polluting brands when it comes to plastic waste.

In 2022, the company made a promise to have 25% of its drinks sold in refillable or returnable glass or plastic bottles, or in refillable containers that could be filled up at fountains or “Coca-Cola freestyle dispensers”.

But shortly before this year’s global plastics summit, the company deleted the page on its website outlining this promise, and it no longer has a target for reusable packaging.

  • @OijkuijEnglish
    15•15 hours ago

    Not that this makes it “wrong” but aluminum cans are also plastic cans, they have a liner on the inside of the metal layer that prevents the acidic soda from corroding things and affecting the flavor. Here’s a quick demo of it. While it doesn’t prevent the Al from being recycled it is single-use plastic, the liner burns off when the can is melted down. Glass has no such need for the liner.

    • @[email protected]English
      10•15 hours ago

      Glass is still the best medium, but it is relatively heavy and fragile - making per-unit costs significantly higher once all factors are accounted for (loss, logistics etc).

      While it’s true that a few milligrams of plastic are burned off when cans are recycled - it is still infinitely better for the environment overall than single-use bottles.

      • ms.laneEnglish
        4•12 hours ago

        Logistics is huge, Coopers Brewery are finally moving away from Glass for Al Cans after many years of being only available in glass, since it reduces their carbon footprint by an exceptional margin.