May 16, 2022
(press release)
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Reducing the impact our packaging has on the environment is a critical part of our journey to reach zero waste and net zero GHG emissions. Since 2008, we’ve reduced the weight of our 500ml PET bottles by 30%, from 28.9g to 19.9g. Our new lighter weight neck design will remove a further 1g of plastic per bottle, totalling 6,800 tonnes of plastic by the end of 2024. This is part of our ongoing work to reduce virgin fossil-based plastic in our packaging, and reduce packaging where we can. This includes lightweighting, as well as removing hard-to-recycle materials, and innovating in refillable and dispensed solutions. Our plan is aligned to The Coca-Cola Company’s vision for a World Without Waste and goal to use three million tonnes less of new plastic from fossil-based sources by 2025. Progress without compromise Lightweighting the neck of a carbonated soft drink bottle is a complex technical challenge. The neck needs to perform well under adverse and extreme conditions and retain high safety and quality standards, whilst maintaining the same great consumer drinking experience. This new solution was developed in collaboration with The Coca-Cola Company, working closely with multiple bottle and closure suppliers to design and test the innovation. To reach our lighter neck solution, we tested over six million bottles under rigorous conditions and despite reducing the neck material, each bottle can still withstand the 11.5 bars of pressure – 5 times that of a car tyre – required to contain the carbonated drink. Production lines in Germany were the first to convert in Q4 2021 and are being followed by our other European markets over the next two years. Towards an industry standard We’re not keeping the new neck design to ourselves. Our aim is for this design to be accepted as a free to use, open source, industry standard published through the industry association Cetie (International Technical Centre for Bottling). It will then be available for any beverage maker to use in their own bottles. By doing this, we hope to enable others to drive further packaging and carbon reduction across the industry over the long term. "This new lighter-weight neck design – a seemingly simple, but highly technical and complex innovation – builds on our longstanding lightweighting programme and helps us further reduce the environmental impact of our packaging. This innovation supports our ongoing progress to zero waste and net zero GHG emissions. " -- Geert Marsé, Associate Director Engineering, New Technology and Innovation at CCEP
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