Greens Push to Oust Coke From COP 27 Sponsorship
E.A. Crunden | November 2, 2022 | E&E News
Two environmental groups want a major beverage giant pushed out of the world’s largest climate conference over plastics concerns, arguing the material has become “the new coal” and warrants a major response.
Just Zero and Beyond Plastics, two U.S. based-groups, called on the United Nations Climate Change Conference to kick Coca-Cola Co, out as a sponsor of this year’s COP 27 on Wednesday. They asserted that the beverage manufacturer’s role in the event is undermining the global fight against climate change and is at odds with efforts to bring down emissions.
“COP 27 is supposed to focus on solutions for fighting the catastrophic climate crisis,” said Judith Enck, who heads Beyond Plastics and previously served as an Obama-era EPA regional administrator. “Instead, we’re allowing it to be a stage for corporate greenwashing.”
She was joined in her remarks by Just Zero State Policy Director Peter Blair, who said the company’s sponsorship of COP 27 “makes it hard to see this meeting as anything more than a performative act.”
Other corporate sponsors for COP 27 include Microsoft Corp., IBM Corp., Boston Consulting Group Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC. But Coca-Cola has drawn ire from anti-plastics groups who have long targeted the global beverage manufacturing force over plastics, a fossil fuel product.
They have pushed back hard on Coca-Cola’s role as a sponsor for this year’s COP event, noting not only the realities of plastics production but also the mounting environmental crisis associated with pollution and dismal recycling numbers. Moreover, advocates have cited a 2021 report from Beyond Plastics and Bennington College in Vermont that found plastics are poised to overtake coal as a driver of climate emissions within a decade (Greenwire, Oct. 21, 2021).
Coca-Cola has repeatedly emphasized its recycling commitments and investments, which include plans to achieve net-zero emissions by midcentury and heavily combat marine debris. But an annual audit of corporate brands by Break Free From Plastic, an international coalition, has notably named Coca-Cola “the world’s top plastic polluter” for four years running.
Critics charge that its pollution footprint speaks for itself. Coca-Cola has said that it is responsible for around 3 million metric tons of plastic packaging, an inevitable waste product. Such numbers, advocates argue, should disqualify the company from COP 27 sponsorship.
“By pouring millions of dollars into sponsoring COP 27, Coca-Cola is making a shameful play to give the appearance of environmental responsibility,” said Blair. “But behind the scenes, Coca-Cola’s lobbyists campaign to block improvements in real recycling and resist calls to transition away from single-use plastic bottles to reusable and refillable glass containers.”
Enck similarly took a hard line on the issue.
“Plastics [are] the new coal. How can a major plastic polluter be in a leadership position at such an important climate conference?” she asked. “It’s well past time that our country’s policymakers and advocates commit to holding corporations accountable for the impact their products and policies have on our climate and environment.”
A spokesperson for Coca-Cola did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The comments from Just Zero and Beyond Plastics compound earlier complaints from groups including Greenpeace, who have argued the company’s presence at COP 27 is “greenwashing” (Climatewire, Oct. 25).
