Coca-Cola CEO at Davos: Collection and Recycling Key to Driving Circular Plastics Economy By: Jay Moye | Jan 25, 2019<\/p>\n
DAVOS, SWITZERLAND \u2013 Curbing plastic waste and creating a circular plastic economy requires companies, governments and NGOs to make recycling easier and more attractive to people around the world, Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey said this week during a World Economic Forum (WEF) panel discussion moderated by CNBC\u2019s Sara Eisen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to make it a better value proposition for the consumer,\u201d Quincey said. \u201cWe need to make it more convenient and more valuable for them to return the (PET) bottles \u2013 so they have value, and so we can buy them back and then reuse them. Then the flywheel \u2013 the circular economy \u2013 turns very quickly.\u201d
\nHe added, \u201cWe\u2019ve done an amazing job, collectively, of delivering convenience to consumers. We\u2019ve delivered fantastic-tasting products that are easy to buy, easy to consume. But we have not yet made them easy to recover and reuse. Only with that bit of convenience can we truly have a circular economy that will give value to each bottle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quincey, who was joined on the panel by PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta, Dow Chemical CEO Jim Fitterling and senior government officials and environment ministers, Brune Poirson of France and Tran Hong Ha of Vietnam, stressed the need for continued cross-sector collaboration throughout the plastics value chain. \u201cI think there\u2019s an urgency to put in place systems that work,\u201d he said. \u201cThe sense of urgency is driving everyone forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year, Coca-Cola announced it would expand access to the IP for its PlantBottleTM \u2013 the world\u2019s first, fully-recyclable PET plastic bottle made partially from plant waste \u2013 more broadly, including to beverage industry competitors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we want is to see this collective action on design of sustainable packaging and recovery of sustainable packaging,\u201d Quincey explained. \u201cBecause that\u2019s what will make all industries more sustainable.\u201d In France, Coca-Cola operates Europe\u2019s largest food-grade PET recycling facility. \u201cIt\u2019s not operating at capacity,\u201d Quincey noted. \u201cWhy? Because we don\u2019t get enough clean feedstock. We need to get the bottles back. The gap at the high value end of plastics \u2013 PET \u2013 is collection.\u201d<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s not just about recyclability, Quincey insisted. \u201cWe also have to worry about the carbon footprint of all these options,\u201d he added, noting that PET bottles have a lower carbon footprint than the equivalent amount of aluminum or glass.<\/p>\n
While Coke continues to push the innovation envelope in everything from packaging design to chemical recycling, Quincey stressed that existing solutions are working. The challenge is getting more people in more places to recycle more plastic packages more often.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen countries like Mexico and South Africa go from 10 percent (plastic bottle recycling rates) to 70 percent in a decade,\u201d he added, noting that the global average is around 60 percent. \u201cWe\u2019ve proven it in countries\u2026 now we just need to take it to a global scale.”<\/p>\n
He concluded. \u201cWe have a lot of momentum. We are moving to the stage of not just individual action and individual country successes, we’re moving to success at scale. At the end of the day, this is not a model that needs to be reinvented \u2013 though innovation can make it much better \u2013 because there are countries where, collectively, we\u2019ve solved the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n