Coca-Cola Introduces New PET Bottle; Announces Construction of $60 Million PET Recycling Facility

In a series of carefully timed releases the Coca-Cola Company made two major announcements this week.   First the company announced on Tuesday the launch of their new PET plastic bottle.

Tuesday's announcement was followed up on Wednesday with the announcement the company will build a $60 PET recycling facility in Spartanburg, S.C. with the United Resource Recovery Corporation.

Coca-Cola's new PET contour bottle will be used for all of its brands and uses 5% less PET than their current bottle.

The new 20-ounce bottle is designed to be easy-to-hold and easy-to-open offering on-the-go convenience to people looking for immediate refreshment.

Coca-Cola said consumers can except to see the new bottles in convenience stores immediately and nationwide by early 2008.

The company's new PET recycling facility will be the world's largest plastic bottle-to-bottle recycling plant when it opens in 2008.  The plant is expected to be operational by 2009. 

The joint venture with United Resource Recovery Corporation will produce approximately 100 million pounds of food-grade recycled PET plastic each year - or the equivalent of two billion 20-ounce Coca-Cola bottles.

The Spartanburg facility will use URRC's patented UnPET process for chemically super-cleaning PET flake for cost efficient food grade packaging.  The new facility and technology are related to a five year development program between the two companies begun in 1996.  The companies were working together to commercialize the UnPET process by producing food-grade quality PET chip for bottle-to-bottle recycling. 

Based on the recent announcement regarding construction of the new $60 million facility, it would appear they were successful.

Coca-Cola and American Beverage Association Attempt to Block Mayors Action in Support of Municipal Water

Coca-Cola and the American Beverage Association attempted to block a resolution highlighting the importance of municipal water and calling for a study on the impact of bottled water on city waste.

Resolution 90 at the 75th U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Los Angeles was introduced by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Salt Lake City Mayor Ross "Rocky" Anderson, and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak.  The resolution called for recognizing the importance of municipal water and commissioned a study to examine the impact bottled water was having on city waste. 

Mayors from across the country rejected the efforts by the world's largest beverage company and their trade association to stop the resolution.  Coincidentally the lead image on the American Beverage Association's web site is of a young girl drinking from a one liter bottle of water.

There is growing concern about the impacts of bottled water on our environment and people's confidence in our public water systems. Corporate Accountability International is working with mayors as part of its Think Outside the Bottle campaign to challenge the impacts of bottled water and to raise awareness about the importance of strong public water systems.

The action at the U.S. Conference of Mayors follows Friday's announcement by Mayor Newsom that San Francisco would phase out the purchase of bottled water.  Similar action occurred last week when the Ann Arbor (MI) City Council announced that they would no longer have bottled water available at city sponsored events.

As we reported in May restaurants are also joining in, serving municipal tap water in lieu of bottled water.

"Momentum is building in support of our public water systems," said Gigi Kellett with Corporate Accountability International. "We congratulate all of these mayors -- and the U.S. Conference of Mayors -- on their leadership in passing a resolution that places the political will of mayors behind full support of municipal water. It is a critical step toward keeping our public water supply strong.  Our mayors are standing up for the environment and standing behind public water systems."

Coca-Cola and Cargill Partner on Ultra Secret Sweetener

Coca-Cola filed 24 U.S. patent applications on May 24, 2007, covering the use of stevia in combination with a range of natural compounds (i.e., vitamins, minerals, glucosamine), in different delivery formats (i.e., condiments, beverages) and for several health conditions (i.e., weight management, inflammation).

The patent applications are the result of an ultra secret working group between $24 Billion soft drink giant Coca-Cola and food giant Cargill that began to filter out to the public earlier this month.  The working group was part of a joint effort by the companies to develop the "ultimate" sweetener, one they could even call "natural" unlike Splenda or Nutra-Sweet. 

The result is a product derived from Stevia tentatively named rebiana.  In addition to the 24 U.S. patent applications, Coca-Cola will have exclusive worldwide rights to the sweetener for its beverage products.  Cargill will have rights to use the "natural" sweetener in its food products.

"This has been a closely held secret for a while," Zanna McFerson, business director for Cargill Sweetness Solutions told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.  The Wall Street Journal reported the project began about five years ago when Cargill assigned 40 employees to scour the globe for the source of the "dream sweetener," said Marcelo Montero, president of Cargill Sweetness Solutions.

The companies plan on launching products containing the new sweetener as early as next year in countries that allow Stevia for food use including China, Japan and Brazil.  Simultaneously under the terms of the partnership Cargill is handling product development and the regulatory approval process for the sweetener here in the U.S.

In March we reported on another sweetener, Splenda and strange marketing PR campaign by its two owners, Johnson & Johnson and Tate & Lyle to buy over two hundred negative Internet domain names related to Splenda. 

Ecoist to Launch Line of Handbags Made from Repurposed Coca-Cola Labels

 

Miami-based Ecoist, makers of unique gifts and fashion accessories made from repurposed materials announced a partnership with the Coca-Cola Company yesterday.  Ecoist is known for their handbags make from repurposed candy wrappers, food packages, billboards and soft drink labels.   

Under the partnership Ecoist will launch a new line of handbags made from repurposed Coca-Cola bottle labels.  US Newswire reports most of the labels will be sourced from Coca-Cola bottlers or label manufacturers in Peru where Ecoist has been working in a production center operated by Prosostenible S.A. a fair trade manufacturer.

As you might expect this is another great PR item for Coca-Cola and they aren't wasting any time treating it as such. 

"We are very excited to be working with Ecoist. They are the ideal partners for Coke's continuous involvement with environmental initiatives. We have made great strides in reducing our waste output from our bottling plants or label manufacturing facilities, and we are constantly seeking ways to further reduce our environmental footprint. This partnership allows us to repurpose materials. Best of all, we are helping to create greater awareness on environmentally and socially responsible consumption. We want to inspire others to act," says Kelli Sogar, Merchandise Manager, Worldwide Licensing and Retail Operations of The Coca-Cola Company.

Ecoist was founded in 2004. It is a family run business doing most of its production in facilities in Peru and Mexico.  The company prides themselves in Fair Trade practices and their products are sold across the US at natural & boutique specialty type stores. 

Coca-Cola Co. Announces Plan to Offset the 76 Billion Gallons of Water it uses Annually

Coca-Cola Co. today dropped a sustainable bombshell announcing it is funding a $20 million project to try and offset the 76 billion gallons of water it uses each year to make Coke, Sprite, Fanta and its other drinks.  Yes that is not a typo Coca-Cola uses 76 billion gallons of water annually.

According to a company press release Coca-Cola Co. will work to conserve seven major rivers worldwide and will also revamp its bottling practices to reduce pollution and water use.

The campaign was announced at the World Wildlife Foundation's (WWF) annual meeting in Beijing.  Information on the announcement and apparent Coca-Cola/WWF partnership is prominently displayed on both parties web sites. 

"Essentially the pledge is to return every, every drop we use back to nature," Coca-Cola Chief Executive E. Neville Isdell said at a news conference.

Under the project the company will explore how to eventually set targets to improve water efficiency for its water-thirsty agricultural partners, including sugar cane producers, Isdell told the Associated Press.

This is an important point because of the huge amount of water needed to grow sugar cane, said Jason Clay, a WWF researcher.  "For every liter of Coke, just the sugar in it requires between 175 and 250 liters (46 to 66 gallons) of water.  This is the big issue," he told the AP.  "They really need to get a handle on sugar."

Clay said Coca-Cola was encouraging sugar cane producers to conserve water, and was looking at sugar alternatives.

The partnership will focus on measurably conserving seven of the world's most critical freshwater river basins: China's Yangtze; Southeast Asia's Mekong; the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo of Southwest United States  and Mexico; the rivers and streams of the Southeastern United States; the water basins of the Mesoamerican Caribbean Reef; the East Africa basin of Lake Malawi; and Europe's Danube River.  How they plan on conserving the river basins remains unclear.

"The water crisis is as important as climate change," said Carter Roberts, President of WWF-US. "Thousands of people die each day from polluted water. Freshwater species are more at risk for extinction. These conditions will only get worse with climate change. The Coca-Cola Company's commitment to water neutrality is a first. We need more companies to step up and make similar commitments if we are going to reverse these current trends."

Roberts comments puzzle me, while what he says is accurate what about the 76 billion gallons of water Coca-Cola uses annually???  Isn't that a problem?

This is one of the stranger stories I've seen.  Today's announcement was clearly carefully planned and the fact it came at the WWF annual meeting is significant.

   

According to Coca-Cola, they have been working together with WWF for several years on a number of pilot projects to conserve water, address water efficiency in the Company's operations and protect species.   

Surely a $20 million commitment is a drop in the bucket compared to the environmental impact Coca-Cola products production has on the environment.  The whole announcement/plan appears to be a PR move however I think it only draws attention to the incredible impact the company's production has on water supplies and global-warming.

Amazing.