Coca-Cola’s commitment to environmental sustainability

The packaging and manufacturing of many products has been affected greatly by the changing nature of man’s lifestyle and consumption habits. This is the main reason why packaging materials have evolved from biodegradable and nature resistant to ravaging environmental impacts.

Packaging materials are becoming more expensive, which has a direct impact on products and the value chain. This can lead to inflation. In order to ensure environmental sustainability, it is essential that we consider recycling in our manufacturing processes.

This is why the initiatives Coca-Cola Company These are remarkable. The company has decided to invest enormous resources in the fight against plastic waste.

Alfred Olajide, Vice President, Coca-Cola Nigeria and Managing Director, spoke out about the company’s community programmes and its vision of a World Without Waste. Alfred Olajide stated that we want recycling to be more accessible (to people, communities), and to reach 100 percent collection and recycling by 2030.

Our goal is for everyone who buys bottles or cans to be able to recycle them. We will continue to make all of our packaging recyclable and work with different stakeholders to ensure that the bottles are collected and recycled.

Concerning the socioeconomic impacts of companies’ World without Waste initiative, he expressed optimism. This initiative will continue to help local communities identify and better comprehend how and where to recycle, further supporting women and youths who can make a living by recycling.

It will also improve existing recycling and collection systems. It is possible to have a litter-free planet, and The Coca-Cola Company leads the way.

Nwamaka Onyemelukwe, Director of Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability, Coca Cola Nigeria, gave insight into the company’s sustainability journey thus far. He explained that Coca-Cola continues to prioritize a greener environment as evidenced by the many initiatives it has supported. We want to fundamentally change the way we design, collect and partner with other companies to recycle packaging throughout our entire system.

We believe every package has a value and a life beyond its original use. All packages should be collected and recycled to make new ones or for other beneficial uses. Coca-Cola, along with its bottling partner, Nigerian Bottling Company won’t have a collection infrastructure in most cases. However Coca-Cola continues support for local recycling and collection programs. It is unacceptable for packages to end up in the wrong places, in our oceans or waterways, or in communities where we live and work. Our actions have the potential to inspire others to make a difference and leave a better world for future generations.

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She explained that FBRA was formed by four industry leaders. It has since grown to include 21 food and beverage organizations dedicated to the recovery and recycling food and packaging. FBRA has supported over ten collectors and enabled the recovery and recycling more than 18,000 tonnes of plastic materials from our environment.

Coca-Cola Nigeria, along with its bottling partner Nigerian Bottling Company, is creating better product packaging. This can be seen in the migration of the iconic green Sprite bottles from clear bottles to clear bottles. This is a design pillar of the company’s World Without Waste vision.

The company also implemented light weighing initiatives to ensure that it uses less plastic materials in its beverage portfolio. Eva, the company’s water brand, is now lighter in its product packaging, which helps reduce the amount plastic packaging that ends up in the environment.

The company has invested more than $3 million in the collection and partnership pillars over the past three years. It also works with various social ventures to educate and create recycling infrastructure so that people can recycle.

These projects include Mission Zero Plastic, Cash 4 Trash, W.A.S.T.E Africa and Project DORI, RecyclePoints Foundation.

Coca-Cola Nigeria has partnered with two climate-friendly organizations to receive funding from The Coca-Cola Foundation. It is also set to announce two major recycling initiatives to support the collection value chains to increase collection and recycling across six geopolitical regions of the country.

The company’s Africa-wide JAMII sustainability platform was launched earlier this year. It has maintained its focus on environmental sustainability through its key sustainability areas, waste management, water conservation, and wealth creation for communities.