Coca-Cola Nigeria has revealed that it targets to collect and recycle 15% of its packaging in 2022 as part of its efforts to promote environmental sustainability.
The Director, Public Affairs, Communications, and Sustainability, Coca-Cola Nigeria, Amaka Onyemelukwe, stated this in a media chat in Lagos recently.
She explained that concerted efforts to stem the tide of environmental degradation has seen the company make huge investments in leadership, by fostering industry collaboration, encouraging investments, and attracting international intervention, which includes funding.
“To achieve the set target, our bottling partners, Nigerian Bottling Company and through funding from The Coca-Cola Foundation will increase its investments to scale PET collection across the country and drive the required behavioral changes”, she said.
Onyemelukwe further mentioned that through funding from The Coca-Cola Foundation in partnership with a local NGO and a waste aggregator, a mini factory has been set up in Delta State for the conversion of PET bottles into strapping belts, which would be commissioned in the second quarter of 2022. This is expected that this will drive more positive actions as regards environmental sustainability, she said.
“We are aware that more investors have began to have the confidence to invest in the setup of recycling plants to further drive positive action, which will be commissioned later in 2022. In 2021, over $1.1m in grants were awarded to various NGO partners and social ventures to drive recycling initiatives in various communities,” she said.
“It’s our resolve to open up the sector for more participation, with a view to attracting counterpart funding from the international community. This is based on the prospects we see in the recycling sector that can produce thousands of jobs for the teeming population,” she said.
She stated that Coca-Cola Nigeria and its partners are committed to implementing collection initiatives across communities. The Coca-Cola System along with funding from The Coca-Cola Foundation will be investing over $2m to scale up collection across the six geographical zones and drive behavioral change projects in 2022.
“Our goal is to achieve our 2030 ambitious goal of enabling 100% collection for every packaging we put in the market,” she said.
Onyemelukwe commended the efforts of the government and tasked them to provide more tax incentives for companies investing in recycling infrastructure, in a bid to attract more investors while also introducing environmentally friendly policies.
She also called on other citizens, (individual and corporate) to rise up to the challenge of making the environment better by embracing behavioral change.
“The success story of Coca-Cola’s leadership is in the establishment of a coalition known as the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance (FBRA), an industry partnership between Coca-Cola, Nigerian Bottling Company, Nestle Plc, 7UP Bottling Company and Nigerian Breweries, all these partners come together to build a sustainable economy for food and beverage packaging, which has today evolved to a 21-member coalition championing environmental sustainability in the food and beverage sector,” she said.
“Our journey to a world without waste requires that we all come together in collective action for a litter-free world. Our consumers in local communities are being educated and enlightened about the importance of waste management to aid our advocacy in the recovery of recyclable materials,” she added.
She stated that a greener environment remains a priority for Coca-Cola, which is why environmental issues are considered business enablers that sit at the core of all their decision-making processes.
