Coca-Cola's sponsorship of COP27 slammed for greenwashing

Coca-Cola has copped flak for sponsoring this year's UN climate conference (COP27) in Egypt, as environmental groups call out the brand for greenwashing. The beverage manufacturer was even described as the "world's top polluter" in a 2021 brand audit report by Break Free From Plastic, a global alliance of organisations and individuals.

Independent global campaign network, Greenpeace USA, also called Coca-Cola the "biggest plastic polluter" in its response to the news. Greenpeace USA oceans campaign director, John Hocevar, said: "It is baffling that Coca-Cola – the world’s biggest plastic polluter in all global Break Free From Plastic brand audits, including Kenya and Uganda – will sponsor this year’s UNFCCC Conference of Parties in Egypt."

According to him, Coca-Cola produces 120 billion throwaway plastic bottles a year – and 99% of plastics are made from fossil fuels, worsening both the plastic and climate crisis. "It has yet to even acknowledge that this is a problem or explain how it will meet its climate goals without ending its plastic addiction. This partnership undermines the very objective of the event it seeks to sponsor," Hocevar added.

A COP26 delegate also launched a petition to remove Coca-Cola as the sponsor. At the time of writing, the petition had 5,993 out of 7,500 signatures. The petition explained that Coca-Cola spends "millions of dollars greenwashing its brand, making us believe that it is solving the problem". "But, behind the scenes, they have a long history of lobbying to delay and derail regulations that would prevent pollution, keeping us addicted to disposable plastic," the petition added.

Meanwhile, Break Free From Plastic's coordinator, Emma Priestland, also called Coca-Cola's sponsorship of COP27 "pure greenwash" and that it is "astounding" that a company linked to the fossil fuel industry has been allowed to come on board as a sponsor for such a crucial climate meeting, The Guardian said.

COP27 announced the sponsorship was announced on 28 September and the company said previously that through the partnership, it aims to continue exploring opportunities to build climate resilience across its business, supply chain and communities, while engaging with other private sector actors, NGOs, and governments to support collective action against climate change.

“We know that global challenges such as plastic waste, water stewardship and climate change are far too great for any single government, company, or industry to solve individually,” said Michael Goltzman, global VP of public policy and sustainability at The Coca-Cola Company. He added that COP27 gives the company an opportunity to continue engaging with experts, nonprofits, industry, and governments to support actions toward sustainable change across our value chain.

Coca-Cola currently has ambitions to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and reduce its absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030. At the same time, the company said it met its 2020 goal to cut its carbon footprint by 25% by the end of that year, against a 2010 baseline. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Coca-Cola and COP27 for comment.

According to The Guardian, COP26 sponsorship was worth approximately US$285 million.  Unilever was one of the principal partners at last year's COP26 in Glasgow while soft drink manufacturer AG Barr was the exclusive soft drink and water supplier. Other principal partners included Microsoft, Reckitt, Hitachi, GSK, Sainsbury's, and National Grid.

The disappointment also extended to social media, where Twitter users expressed their disbelief. One even likened Coca-Cola sponsoring COP27 to the tobacco industry sponsoring a WHO conference.

https://twitter.com/PGDynes/status/1576338481453768704
https://twitter.com/seekhopeact/status/1576923221630521344
https://twitter.com/MyBlueEconomy/status/1577386588828536841
https://twitter.com/ExtinctionR/status/1577321194323382273

Coca-Cola was said to have produced 125 billion plastic bottles in 2021, according to Bloomberg, bringing the amount to 4,000 bottles each second. This amount accounts for a third of the company's carbon footprint, equivalent to approximately 15 million tons a year. According to Bloomberg, this is equivalent to the climate pollution from one of the dirtiest coal-burning power plants.

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