C
The Coca-Cola Company
GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY & BOTTLING OPERATIONS
EXECUTIVE MEMORANDUM
Global Public Policy & Environmental Stewardship
TO:
Global Bottling Partners, Packaging Engineers, Supply Chain Directors & Procurement
Leads
FROM:
O
ffi
ce of the Chief Executive O
ffi
cer & Chief Sustainability O
ffi
cer
DATE:
September 18, 2026
SUBJECT:
Coca-Cola Packaging Sustainability Memo
1. PURPOSE & STRATEGIC VISION
As the world
’
s leading beverage company, The Coca-Cola Company has a clear responsibility to decouple packaging
waste from business growth. Operating in over 200 countries and territories, our global bottling network packages
and distributes billions of servings daily. A sustainable circular economy requires that every container we produce is
designed for recycling, collected, and transformed back into food-grade materials.
This
Coca-Cola Packaging Sustainability Memo
establishes binding operational guidelines under our holistic "World
Without Waste" strategy. It outlines strict engineering requirements, collection benchmarks, and material circularity
standards governing all operating groups and system bottling partners.
2. THREE PILLARS OF THE "WORLD WITHOUT WASTE" STRATEGY
Our circular framework centers on three actionable and quanti
fi
able pillars across the packaging lifecycle:
Design:
Engineering all primary consumer packaging to be 100% recyclable globally by 2025, while targeting at
least 50% recycled material (rPET, aluminum, and glass) across our total packaging portfolio by 2030.
Collect:
Establishing and supporting closed-loop recovery infrastructure to collect and recycle the equivalent of
100% of every bottle or can we sell globally by 2030.
Partner:
Aligning with local municipalities, waste management operators, bottling franchises, and NGOs to
eliminate packaging litter, clean marine habitats, and optimize extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs.
System Principle:
A circular economy cannot exist in isolation. Collecting a bottle is as essential as manufacturing it.
We must ensure every bottle we sell has multiple lives, permanently redirecting post-consumer plastic away from
oceans and land
fi
lls.
3. ACCELERATED RPET AND TRANSITION AWAY FROM VIRGIN PLASTICS
All regional bottling operations are mandated to accelerate the adoption of 100% rPET bottles (excluding caps and
labels) across core brand portfolios, including trademark Coca-Cola, Sprite, and smartwater. Clear PET
standardization must remain universal to maintain high-yield feedstock for mechanical and chemical recycling.
The Coca-Cola Company
—
Internal Corporate Policy
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