Coca-Cola watches the environment with ‘Circular Seas’

Coca-Cola keeps working to contribute for a better environment with its new project Circular Seas. This initiative is Coca-Cola’s biggest plan for coastal cleaning and marine bottom preserving in Spain and Portugal. Its goal is to collect every single package so that none of them ends up as litter, especially in the oceans. More than 80 beaches will be cleaned off by the end of 2018 and Coca-Cola will contribute to preserve 11 marine bottoms in Iberia. The company plans to collect waste with the help of 1,000 people and 50 shipping boats.

Thus, Coca-Cola, together with the Spanish Ministry of Fisheries and three eco-friendly associations, is cleaning different beaches in every region of Spain and Portugal. This project also has got the support of over one hundred entities, including NGOs, universities and local governments.

Apart from coastal cleaning, Circular Seas is a plan to recover natural areas, to prevent littering by means of public awareness campaigns and to contribute to scientific studies and circular economy.

Carmen Gómez-Acebo, Director of Corporate Responsibility at Coca-Cola European Partners Iberia, affirms: “Our plans are to keep this as a long-term project, not just a one-time coastal cleaning. Circular Seas aims to make consumers aware that it is necessary to recycle and to carry out proper waste management”.

Circular Seas is part of Coca-Cola’s sustainability strategy This is Forward, whose first anniversary will take place in November. It plans to act responsibly on six areas: drinks, packaging, society, water, climate and supply chain. In the packaging area, Coca-Cola is working with local and national partners to collect 100% of its packaging by 2025 in all Western Europe. That is where Circular Seas fits in.

In order to achieve that commitment, the company is focusing on eco-innovation (leading the way in pioneering sustainable packaging, including renewable materials and smart new ways to reduce packaging waste) and is working to make sure that 100% of its packaging is recyclable or reusable and that at least 50% of the material it uses for PET bottles comes from recycled plastic. Besides, Coca-Cola uses the reach of its brands to inspire everyone to recycle.

Our plans are to keep this as a long-term project, not just a one-time coastal cleaning.