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.

  • Noodle07@lemmy.worldEnglish
    11·
    1 day ago

    I’d buy a soda stream syrup instead of buying coca cola bottles but last time I checked it was slightly more expensive to do so

    • ayyyEnglish
      2·
      11 hours ago

      Also SodaStream is an Israeli company with ties to forced labor in the West Bank :(

      • thatKamGuyEnglish
        3·
        15 hours ago

        The issue is more the blatant profiteering off people looking to do the right thing.

        There is absolutely no reason for a small bottle of syrup to cost more per serve than buying multiple giant plastic bottles made up of 95% carbonated water.

        Matter of fact, it’s counter-intuitive as you usually are charged more for a convenience (ie. a ready to go beverage), versus buying the ingredients separately.

      • JohnEdwa@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        31·
        20 hours ago

        True. But it shouldn’t be. At all.

        Bottling, shipping and stocking hundreds and hundreds of bottles of soft drinks that are 98% just water on the store shelf costs a hell of a lot more than putting a hundredth of the amount of syrup in a small bag and selling that. A sachet of sugar-free cola syrup would be smaller than a McDonald’s ketchup pouch, and cost a few cents.

    • HellsBelleOPEnglish
      1·
      22 hours ago

      As I have diabetes I make my own soda. Just buy some good quality flavorings from a reputable shop and add them to club soda … or, if you like 7-up, just add a few drops of lemon and lime juice to club soda.

      For a sweetener I use stevia, but if you want sugar for your drink, boil some water and add a few tablespoons of sugar. Add some of that mix to the club soda mixture, to taste.

    • Zerlyna@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      1 day ago

      I have one but it’s just not the same to me. And yes I needed to use so much syrup it’s not cost effective for me either.