The list stands out less than six months before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which claim to be the most ecological in history. Coca-Cola, one of their main sponsors, remains the world’s leading “plastic polluter”, according to the 2023 ranking, published Wednesday February 7 by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Break Free From Plastic.
This is the sixth time in as many editions that the American brand, the oldest partner of the International Olympic Committee, has taken the top step of the podium. This year, the famous soda brand is ahead of Nestlé and Unilever. Danone, the first French company cited, appears in the top 10, in eighth place.
This classification is established on the basis of plastic waste collected during collection operations organized in public spaces (beaches, rivers, parks, forests, streets, etc.). In 2023, 250 collections were carried out in 41 countries by nearly 9,000 volunteers from around a hundred associations. With a not always obvious mission: to identify the brands behind this trash. 537,719 pieces of plastic waste were collected and controlled.
In 40 of the 41 countries audited
Coca-Cola sets a new record with 33,820 pieces of waste compared to just over 31,000 in 2022. Coca-Cola-branded waste was found in 40 of the 41 countries audited, compared to only 30 for its competitor PepsiCo, which exceeds it in volume – the criterion of the number of countries affected is decisive in this world ranking.
The continued existence of Coca-Cola at the top of the brands most found in waste collections impacts the communication of the multinational which launched its “World without waste” campaign in 2018.
In 2018, the American company signed an agreement with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the United Nations Environment Program. She had committed to reducing by 20% the use of virgin plastic by 2025 compared to the level of 2019. It is not taking the path. Between 2019 and 2022, the volume of plastic packaging produced by the soda maker continued to grow, from 3 million to 3.43 million tonnes, and the share of virgin plastic increased by 8%, according to the latest report annual of the foundation. “We have made progress, but we still have a long way to go”indicates Coca-Cola at World.
Glass bottles, deposits and recycling
Paris 2024, which aims to halve the carbon footprint of the Games, has committed to halving the quantity of single-use plastic. Coca-Cola will manage the beverage offering as official supplier. During the Olympic and Paralympic double fortnight, nearly 20 million cold drinks will be consumed at the different sites.
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