Something is Better than Nothing

It is a common theme for companies today to have a sustainability mission, however for many it is in the form of greenwashing. This means that the company is not really doing anything for the environment but using the image of being green to increase their sales and to make the consumer feel like they are making the right decision when choosing their product. The Coca-Cola Company has released their own sustainability plan with goals to promote recycling, waste water treatment, and energy conservation (Sun, 2011). They aim to reach

water neutrality by 2020 and have made some progress with making water usage more efficient since 2004 (Sun, 2011). As this is a good place to start, more could be done with making cultivation of the ingredients needed for the syrup more sustainable. To raise awareness of recycling, Coca-Cola recycled plastic bottles during the 2008 Beijing Olympics and turned them into clothing, like hats and uniforms, for the athletes and guests (Sun, 2011).

Coca-Cola’s sustainability initiatives are important, however, sometimes they take more credit than they are due, and some programs have hidden agendas. One general example is the support they have given to the Active Healthy Living programs that promote a more active lifestyle as a solution to obesity that is caused by over consumption of sugary drinks (Gertner & Rifkin, 2017). This program supported the idea that Coca-Cola was out to help the public, but in reality, they were trying to secure more sales of their beverages. But in the instance where Coca-Cola was funding the construction of school gymnasiums Coca-Cola, the company took credit for their efforts before the project was completed (Gertner & Rifkin, 2017).

 

Coca-Cola has been a part of the recycling campaign on the consumer end. However, this is another instance where they take more credit than what they are due as most of the success is because of public infrastructure and funding (Elmore, 2012). Coke  was also applauded for their contribution to the construction of the largest plastic to plastic recycling plant in the world located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, but what they did not address is that that facility shut down two years later because they could not generate enough funds to cover their expenditures (Elmore, 2015). The recycling programs that work today are because of the public infrastructure and funding that financed them to be there but do not receive the credit they are due (Elmore, 2015). To learn more about recycling facilities check out this field journal!