Good morning,
In today's newsletter we will present the case of Coca Cola and the practices that are being carried out in the company that threaten the planet and the environment. We analyze some of the sectors in which the company is failing and is not contributing to being a sustainable company and the approaches that are considered to alleviate this issue.
We hope you find this newsletter informative and thus become aware of all the contamination that exists behind a Coca-Cola can.
Today's newsletter is 1797 words, a 8 minute read.
Water pollution and Groundwater depletion
Coca-Cola uses 92% of water in its agricultural supply chain and relies on third-party verification to ensure compliance with Coca-Cola's sustainability requirements.For 2030, ESG goals are to achieve 100% recycled water in all key locations and improve water use efficiency due to scarcity.
Although, research reveals that they are far from accomplishing most of the proposed objectives.
In 2019, Coca-Cola was accused of worsening droughts and threatening groundwater supplies in many villages of India.
Coca-Cola operates in 58 water-intensive bottling plants in India. Many of these factories are located in water crisis areas, where regular droughts have caused local wells to dry, forcing many locals to rely on the government's daily water supply.
Coca-Cola has faced criticism over its environmental impact in India, which the company believes is politically motivated. The company declares untrue the depletion of local aquifers and claims that the accusations have no scientific arguments. The company has started a water replacement program but continues to face challenges due to the monsoon drought. Coca-Cola also has recruited Atul Singh, a key figure in India's groundwater dispute, as one of its group presidents and pledged support for water infrastructure near its factories. The Washington Post praised the company for recognizing and effectively implementing the importance of sustainability in its business strategy.
In 2015, Coca-Cola claimed to be water neutral, investing in water initiatives to offset its water use. But concerns have been raised about questionable water accounting methods, including the use of “green” drinking water. This allowed Coca-Cola to deduct the water used by natural vegetation that was replaced by its agricultural projects, thus reducing its water footprint. Although the company offset 2 billion liters of water in 2015, this only covered a small portion of its total water footprint, and the definition of “every drop” referred to the water needed to produce each bottle.
There were allegations that some projects were not properly audited and scientifically substantiated. In Mexico, projects financed by Coca-Cola and its bottlers, such as digging trenches to harvest seedlings, have been criticized for causing damage to national parks. Although the Mexican Forestry Commission suspended these projects due to negative impacts, Coca-Cola continued to consider them as part of its water offset initiatives. These accounting problems have raised questions about its alleged water neutrality.
Coca-Cola has also come under fire for partnerships with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) for a lack of transparency in disclosing funding and methodology for its annual water reports. Experts have suggested that Coca-Cola should focus on reducing the water footprint of its products and supply chains rather than offsetting more water.
Plastic Pollution
With the purpose of moving towards a circular economy, the company Cocacola launched a campaign called “A World without waste”. In this campaign they assured that by 2030, 50 percent of the materials they use for their packaging will be made from recycled materials and they also promise to recycle 100% of their packaging. According to a report made by Greenpeace this company has been named the world's worst plastic polluter. In 2020, the majority of plastic waste that we can find on the street or in the sea belongs to Cocacola containers, which puts the direct focus on this company and the environmental impact it generates.
The article also highlights the poor management of waste by this company.Compared to leading companies like McDonalds, Cocacola's environmental policies are less aggressive. In addition, they shift much of the responsibility to the consumer by requiring them to recycle their single-use packaging instead of providing a solution to this.
Greenhouse gas
Coca-Cola's goals for 2030 are to reduce its total polluting emissions by 25% and, in the long term, achieve net carbon emissions by 2050. Stated that by 2020 it will have met its objectives, a 25% reduction of its carbon footprint.
The data shown by the company 10global data reflects that they are barely making efforts to reduce their emissions since as of 2020 it increased by 8%.Coca-Cola's addiction to plastic is also contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions through its packaging. As global measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions continue to affect the profitability of the fossil fuel industry, the latter has found a new opportunity in the production of plastics and has established long-term alliances with consumer goods companies like Coca-Cola. Due to the large amount of plastic used in its product packaging, Coca-Cola generates an amount of CO2 equivalent to that of two large coal-fired power plants.
Packaging currently represents 40% of total plastic demand, and the industry is interested in increasing this dependence even further. If the fossil fuel industry continues to develop new ways to extract and process plastics to meet growing demand, we could become trapped in a cycle of high greenhouse gas emissions. This would make achieving the crucial ultimate goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, needed to avoid the worst effects of climate change, virtually impossible to achieve.
Coca-Cola: Greenhouse gas emissions in 2021-GlobalData
Environmental management
A nonprofit environmental organization has filed a complaint against Coca-Cola, alleging that the company misleads the public by promoting itself as sustainable and environmentally friendly. The complaint maintains that Coca-Cola is the world's leading producer of plastic waste, generating 2.9 million tons of plastic waste per year. The company uses around 200,000 plastic bottles per minute, representing a fifth of the world's production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. The complaint also points out that recycling is not an effective solution to the problem of plastic pollution. Only about 30% of plastic waste is actually recyclable, and most plastic bottles end up in landfills or the ocean.
Despite this, Coca-Cola has tried to convince the public that recycling is the solution to the problem of plastic pollution. The company has engaged in marketing campaigns promoting recycling, and has fought legislation that would impose small fees on the purchase of plastic bottles.
The complaint maintains that Coca-Cola is committed to a business model that depends on the production of plastic waste. The company has a toxic relationship with the fossil fuel industry, which is responsible for plastic production.
In order to put an end to this irresponsible practice, the company must end its relationship with the fossil fuel industry and invest in bottle reuse systems. Additionally, it should restructure its business model to eliminate its dependence on single-use plastics.
Critical commentary
Throughout the article we have seen how Coca-Cola, being one of the most recognized brands, plays a key role in all environmental challenges. We have also highlighted how the company has often failed to rise to environmental challenges.
One of these problems has been the use and contamination of water.
Coca-Cola relies heavily on water for its products, and the company's sustainability goals for 2030 indicate a commitment to using renewable water sources and increasing efficiency in areas with low water availability. However, the tests suggest that they are far from achieving these goals. Coca-Cola operations in India have been held accountable for worsening water scarcity and contaminating subsurface waterways. Even though efforts have been made to address these issues, the impact on the local communities remains concerning. The distinction between operational and total water use is also concerning as it raises questions about the true extent of their efforts to offset water use.
Another cause for concern is how the company is positioned in response to plastic contamination. Despite Coca-Cola's commitment to use more recycled content and recycle 100% of its bottles by 2030, the company has consistently been named the world's worst plastic polluter. The improper handling of plastic waste, particularly in nations with inadequate waste management infrastructure, significantly contributes to environmental damage. Just a fraction of the plastics are really recyclable, therefore the claim that recycling alone can address the plastic problem is untrue. In this regard, Coca-Cola's sustainability goals seem weak when compared to some of its competitors' more ambitious commitments.
A further significant obstacle remains Coca-Cola's wintertime greenhouse gas emissions. Even while the company has set goals to reduce emissions, the data suggests that it is not making enough progress. Concern should be expressed about the increase in Alcance 1 and 2 emissions in 2021, particularly given the urgent need to battle global climate change. The carbon footprint of Coca-Cola bottles, which contribute to emissions linked to the fossil fuel industry, is summed up in their carbon footprint.
Agreements that the company is aggressively working against effective recycling measures and resisting legislation that would improve recycling rates are at odds with the company's environmental management practices. This goes against their reputation as an environmentally conscious and sustainable brand. The massive amount of plastic waste produced by Coca-Cola combined with the knowledge of the limited effectiveness of recycling paints a worrying picture of the company's approach to sustainability.
Coca-Cola has to take more immediate, decisive action to deal with such problems. It is necessary to focus on lessening its environmental impact rather than trying to offset its effects. This involves severing ties with the fossil fuel industry and committing to a significant decrease in plastic consumption. Adopting recycling and reusing systems, as demonstrated by a small project in El Paso, Texas, is a promising step that might significantly reduce plastic pollution.
Conclusion
To sum up, Coca-Cola faces significant environmental challenges, including water contamination and water runoff linked to its operations in countries like India, where the company maintains its sustainability claims despite persistent subsurface water shortages and contamination.
Moreover, plastic contamination continues to be a critical issue. Despite their pledges to use more recycled materials and recycle all of their bottles by 2030, Coca-Cola is the world's most plastic-polluting company.
Another cause for concern is the company's greenhouse gas emissions, since their advancements have been insufficient, particularly in the fight against global climate change.
Coca-Cola's stance on recycling and opposition to legislation that may improve recycling rates contradict the company's image as an environmentally conscious business.
Coca-Cola must act quickly and decisively to meet these challenges. Some of the measures that the company should take include breaking its ties to the fossil fuel industry, reducing plastic use, and implementing effective recycling and reuse systems.
References
Lawal, A., & Moerenhout, T. (2022, September 6). Business and environment - researchgate. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ajibike-Lawal/publication/367529329_Coca-Cola_and_its_impacts_on_the_environment/links/63d726ea64fc860638fa5667/Coca-Cola-and-its-impacts-on-the-environment.pdf
Sustainability. (2022). https://www.coca-colacompany.com/sustainability
Action on sustainability - coca-cola europacific partners. (2021, April). https://www.cocacolaep.com/assets/CCEP-This-is-Forward-Sustainability-Action-Plan.pdf