Packaging

In Europe, finding ways to improve our environmental footprint is an integral part of our business. As part of this, we know we have a responsibility to play a role in managing packaging waste. 

We’re making progress, but we know more must be done. 

We are committed to innovating to advance our packaging strategy and finding impactful solutions that work for people and our communities.

Providing consumers with a range of options to enjoy our drinks is fundamental to us. So, just as we offer drink choices for a range of occasions, our constantly evolving packaging portfolio gives consumers multiple ways to enjoy our products too.

Our primary packaging formats are all recyclable or reusable: glass, aluminium and plastic. This means that by collecting empty cans and bottles and reusing or recycling them, they can play a role in reducing waste.   

As a result, we are focused on driving measurable impact under two key pillars: Packaging Design and Partner to Collect Schemes.

Our aim is to ensure our packaging is designed to be recyclable and to increase the percentage of recycled material in primary packaging, including the use of more recycled plastic. 

Globally, our goal is to use 35% to 40% recycled material in our primary packaging (plastic, glass and aluminium), including increasing recycled plastic (rPET) use to 30% to 35% globally by 2035.

Across Europe, we respect relevant EU legislation, including the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive which mandates that, single-use plastic beverage bottles must contain at least 25% recycled plastic (rPET) by 2025. By 2030, this figure must reach 30%.

We are also expanding our use of reusable packaging, tailoring our approach based on local infrastructure. Globally in 2024, 14% of total beverage volume was served in reusables packaging.

Our approach to innovation: We continue to explore new designs that focus on improving our environmental footprint. While we know more must be done, meaningful developments have been achieved through ongoing trials. 

• Lightweighting: Reducing plastic weight in specific packaging
• Label-less packaging: Trialling label-free designs to remove the need for virgin plastic in this part of the bottle 
• Recyclable paperboard secondary packaging solutions: Collaborating with bottling partners to replace plastic shrink wrap in secondary packaging with recyclable paperboard.

We work in close collaboration with partners across Europe to help collect our bottles and cans so they can be recycled. These partnerships include exploring new collection models and improving existing ones, investing in local collection infrastructure and advocating for supportive regulation to help take this even further.

Our global goal is to ensure the collection of 70% to 75% of the equivalent number of bottles and cans introduced into the market annually by 2035, while also ensuring compliance with all local and EU regulations. 

• We support well designed DRS schemes, currently 17 are active in Europe and we are working with industry partners to launch more. Countries with a well-designed DRS scheme achieve high levels of collection, with up to 90% return rates on average after the third year of implementation as seen in Sweden and Norway.
• Globally in 2024, 65% of the equivalent bottles and cans we introduced into the market were collected and refilled or collected for recycling.
• We are continuously collaborating with industry peers to extend collection infrastructure in Europe and will support the implementation of a DRS in Poland and Greece this year.
• We are actively working in partnership with European regulators to implement and invest in policies that support practical solutions and accelerate collection infrastructure across the region.

Partnership is a critical pillar of Coca‑Cola’s sustainability strategy. We believe collective action is required to drive real change, of which we know there is always more to be done.

As we continue to work to collect our bottles and cans, collaboration with local and global partners is needed to support packaging collection infrastructure and policies, as every country has their own unique systems, regulatory environments and sets of consumer behaviours to contend with. 

Similarly, consumers are also key part of Coca‑Cola’s packaging strategy. As we continue to increase the percentage of recycled material in our packaging and expand our use of reusable packaging, collaboration with consumers is key to ensuring we are making the reuse, return and recycle process as easy as possible to ensure real results.

See our latest updates in the areas of water, packaging, climate and agriculture.