Coca-Cola in Western Europe furthers commitment to eliminate virgin oil-based plastic with move to 100% recycled plastic (rPET) bottles in Iceland

Coca-Cola in Western Europe today takes another step on its journey to eliminating new virgin oil-based plastic as Coca-Cola European Partners in Iceland announces its transition to plastic bottles made from 100% recycled plastic (rPET).

All locally produced bottles in Iceland will transition  to 100% rPET in 2021 along with Coca-Cola in the Netherlands and Coca-Cola in Norway. The move follows Coca-Cola Sweden which transitioned to 100% rPET  in 2020.

Einar Snorri Magnússon, country director of Coca-Cola European Partners in Iceland said:

“We have accelerated our 100% roadmap as part of our ambition for a World without Waste, as well as our Net Zero 2040 ambition, which is also being announced today. We are one of the largest food producers in the country, and this comes with a responsibility. By transitioning  to 100% rPET we will eliminate the use of over 530 tonnes of virgin oil-based plastic (86%) per year, reducing the carbon footprint of the production of these bottles by 400 tonnes of CO2.”

Coca-Cola European Partners  is set to accelerate the decarbonisation of its business by reducing absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its entire value chain - including scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions - by 30% by 2030 (vs 2019) and setting a path to become a Net Zero business by 2040, in alignment with a 1.5˚C pathway and the Paris Climate Agreement

Action on Packaging

As part of their joint Sustainability Action Plan, This is Forward, Coca-Cola European Partners and Coca-Cola Company in Western Europe have pledged that by 2025: Coca-Cola will: collect a can or bottle for every one it sells and ensure that all its packaging is 100% recyclable and by 2023: will ensure that at least 50% of the content of its PET bottles will come from recycled content, accelerating towards its ambition to use zero virgin oil-based PET in its PET bottles in the future.