Action on packaging
Making our packaging more sustainable
Content finalised at beginning of May 2021 related to CCEP’s operations in Western Europe.
For more information on sustainability related to CCEP’s operations in Australia, Pacific and Indonesia click here
Reducing the impact our packaging has on the environment is at the heart of our packaging strategy. We are on a path to zero – zero waste and net zero GHG emissions.
Our packaging represents approximately 40% of our total value chain carbon footprint. Reducing the footprint of our packaging will be a critical part in our journey to reach net zero GHG emissions by 2040.
We want to reduce our use of packaging where we can (via lightweighting, removing unnecessary packaging and by innovating in refillable and dispensed solutions and services) and ensure that all the packaging we do use is collected so that it does not end up as litter or in the oceans and can be recycled and reused as part of a circular economy.
Our action on packaging supports UN Sustainable Development Goal 12 and UN Sustainable Development Goal 14.
It is our ambition to create an energy efficient solution for circular product to product recycling of polyester. The support of CCEP Ventures will enable us to start with difficult to recycle food grade PET and take the first step towards our ultimate vision of recycling all polyester again and again.
Josse Kunst
Chief Commercial Officer, CuRe Technology
Our 2025 commitments
- Recyclability
- Packaging collection
- Recycled or renewable material
- Inspire to recycle
- Sustainable packaging
We’ll make sure that 100% of our primary packaging is recyclable or reusable and we’ll remove all unnecessary or hard to recycle packaging from our portfolio.
In 2020, 98% of our packaging was recyclable. By 2025, we will ensure that all of our primary packaging, including the cartons and pouches we use for some of our drinks, are fully recyclable and compatible with local packaging collection infrastructure. This is aligned with The Coca-Cola Company’s global pledge to use 100% reusable or recyclable packaging as part of their World Without Waste strategy.
We’ll work with local and national partners to collect 100% of our packaging in Western Europe, including support for well designed deposit return schemes where a proven alternative does not exist.
Within CCEP’s territories, DRS are in place in Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany. We are also working closely with policy makers to implement DRS in Scotland and Portugal where legislation is already in place. In our other markets we continue to work with a range of recycling and collection organisations, including Fost Plus in Belgium, CITEO in France, WRAP and Valpak in GB, and Ecoembes in Spain.
We’ll make sure that at least 50% of the material we use for our PET bottles comes from recycled plastic (rPET) by 2023 and we’ll aim to reach 100% recycled or renewable plastic in the future.
Using recycled material in our bottles and cans keeps valuable resources in a circular economy and reduces the carbon footprint of our packaging. We are investing in new technologies, like enhanced recycling, and engaging in partnerships to ensure a reliable supply of high quality rPET in all our markets. In 2020, 41.3% of the plastic we used to make our PET bottles across our business was rPET.
We’ll use the reach of our brands to inspire everyone to recycle.
Consumers have an important role to play in helping to ensure that our packaging is collected and recycled and does not end up as litter or in the oceans.
We’re determined to use the reach of our brands to encourage everyone to recycle more. Across our markets we support a wide variety of consumer recycling and anti-litter campaigns, as well as putting clear recycling messages across all our packs.
We’ll lead the way in pioneering sustainable packaging – including renewable materials, refillable and dispensed delivery models and smart new ways to reduce packaging waste.
Innovation is an important pillar in our strategy. Our Coca-Cola system Sustainable Packaging Office (SPO) streamlines all the technical and exploratory sustainable packaging work across our geographies, accelerates our innovation and supports progress towards our goals.
CCEP Ventures, our innovation investment fund, supports the SPO by providing early stage funding to technologically
advanced companies and start ups that, among other things, enable us to explore new ways to bring sustainable packaging innovation to life.
Our progress in 2020
Our stories
In 2020, we continued to work with our suppliers on innovative solutions to remove unnecessary or hard to recycle plastic . For example in the Balearic Islands in Spain, in collaboration with WestRock, we introduced CanCollar®, which replaces hard to recycle shrink wrap with a sustainably sourced recyclable paperboard can rings for multi pack cans.
In the Netherlands, we introduced the 8 and 4-pack KeelClip™ on 250ml multipack cans of our Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite and Fernandes brands. KeelClip™ is developed by Graphic Packaging International and has the FSC-mix® quality mark for cardboard of responsible origin. With this initiative, we will save 350,000 kilos of new plastic annually.
In GB and France, we partner with Loop™, a groundbreaking zero-waste shopping platform, which provides an alternative to single-use packaging. Being part of the TerraCycle Loop platform helps us supply returnable glass bottles to shoppers in GB and France and gives us an opportunity to understand the role they can play in helping us to achieve our vision of a world without waste.
In Spain and Portugal, we continue to support our Mares Circulares project, in partnership with Ecomar Foundation and The Coca-Cola Company. The project is dedicated to tackling ocean litter and helps to clean coastlines, seabeds and aquatic environments, whilst creating awareness and promoting a circular economy. Over 250 tonnes of waste were collected in 2020, thanks to the efforts of 180 volunteers.
In Belgium, Luxembourg and GB, we reached our target of 50% rPET across our portfolio. We’ve already moved to 100% rPET bottles for all of our brands made in Sweden and we’re doing the same in the Netherlands, Iceland and Norway. In addition, all our Honest, GLACÉAU Smartwater, ViO and Chaudfontaine bottles are made from 100% recycled plastic.
“Recycle me again. I’m 100% recycled plastic”. As part of the move to 100% rPET bottles in Sweden, we introduced limited edition labels for our PET bottles with a clear message to encourage consumers to recycle our packaging. In the Netherlands, together with The Coca-Cola Company we launched our “Empty also valuable” campaign, educating consumers how empty packaging is still valuable.