Coca-Cola European Partners Great Britain unveil new sustainable packaging strategy

Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) has revealed its new British sustainable packaging strategy setting out an ambition for its business to work with local and national partners to recover all its packaging so that more is recycled and none ends up as litter.

At present, only 70% of the cans and 57% of the plastic bottles used each year are recycled and CCEP believes these figures should be higher.

The new strategy is focused on three key areas:

1. Continuing to innovate to ensure its packaging is as sustainable as possible. CCEP wants to build on its work, with plans to double the amount of recycled plastic in every one of its PET bottles over the next three years. To achieve this ambitious target it will continue its long-term partnership with Clean Tech, which operates Europe's largest and most advanced plastic bottle reprocessing facility in Lincolnshire, supporting the circular economy in Great Britain and allowing recycled bottles to return to shop shelves as part of new packs in as little as six weeks.

2. Investing in consumer communication to promote recycling and encourage behaviour change. Later this month, the company will launch a multi-million pound communications campaign designed to inspire more people to recycle. At the heart of the campaign is an advert called Love Story, which will break on TV at the end of July and run across TV, cinema and digital channels.

In addition, CCEP will seek to advance its own knowledge of how consumers are motivated by an incentive-based scheme by testing an on-the-go bottle collection and reward programme.

Leendert den Hollander, vice-president and general manager at Coca-Cola European Partners GB, said: “We have long been committed to reducing the environmental impact of our packaging. We have ensured that all our bottles and cans are 100% recyclable; we have reduced the weight of our packs as much as possible; and have a long-standing commitment to use locally-sourced rPET and other recycled materials in our packaging.

“Coca-Cola operates in Great Britain as two businesses â€" Coca-Cola Great Britain and its bottling partner Coca-Cola European Partners â€" and it is through this strong partnership that we have been able to make significant progress in recent years. However, both companies realise there is much more to be done and we have worked together to build an end-to-end strategy focused on meaningful actions in three key areas.

Marcus Gover, chief executive of WRAP, said: “To have a brand as well-known and with the reach of Coca-Cola actively encouraging more people to recycle is a really positive step which we welcome. A commitment that half of all the plastic they use will be recycled plastic, understanding that this will cost the business more, shows real leadership in the industry and provides the essential market for recovered materials.”

To find out more, [click here](www.coca-cola.co.uk/sustainablepackaging and www.ccep.com)

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