Coca-Cola have started 2018 with a bold promise to tackle the epidemic of plastic waste that is plaguing our oceans and killing marine wildlife. Their proposal is simple: they pledge to collect and recycle all of their packaging and bottles by 2030. We think that this is a groundbreaking move for a giant multinational – paving the way for other brands to play catch up. Below, we list what brands both big and small can learn from this announcement.
Be bold
Coca-Cola’s announcement is certainly bold. A pledge to change their whole manufacturing chain and introduce environmentally-friendly packaging does away with the meek suggestions of incremental progress that have been announced by similar sized brands in the past. A bold, revolutionary statement with a clear end goal can inspire confidence in your consumer that you are taking appropriate action about a serious problem that has had a lot of media coverage in recent months. Goals can be scaled according to the size of the brand, for example, a local corner shop can phase out plastic bags in a matter of weeks – so bold deadline setting is scalable to brands of any size.
Collection is key
The most interesting part of Coca-Cola’s announcement is that they’ve committed to collection, as well as recyclability. This is a bold commitment to implementing infrastructural change rather than merely changing the material and hoping the already recycling-averse world population changes its habits. They have shown corporate responsibility by going this one step further – yet all is not what it seems…
Don’t be embarrassed into action
The key point missing from a lot of the coverage of the Coca-Cola announcement is that last year they were profoundly embarrassed by a Greenpeace report into their practices, that revealed that they produce over one hundred billion non-recyclable plastic bottles a year, that’s 3,400 a second, or roughly 864,000 in the time it takes you to read this blog post. They were, in effect, embarrassed into taking action – something that a multinational PR operation can easily gloss over, but for a smaller brand, this could be seriously damaging. Being proactive and acting early about your environmental impact by adopting eco-friendly packaging materials can avoid situations where this can happen to your brand.
It’s not an afterthought any more
This announcement signals a change in thought for one of the world’s most recognisable brands – that action is needed above all other innovations and changes in the business. Too often, the cause of the world’s environmental issues has been related to large companies looking after the bottom line and caring for little else – but seemingly not anymore. Sacrificing a slice of profit in order to introduce conscientious and sensible measures such as eco-friendly packaging is now becoming more mainstream – so emerging brands should look to eco-friendly measures first, rather than growing too quickly and then hurriedly papering over the cracks later.
Here at Kendon Packaging, we have been an environmentally conscious packaging manufacturer for many decades. Browse our wide range of eco-friendly packaging products today.
