World Without Waste

Corporate sustainability and social responsibility are indispensable elements of the corporate culture of Coca-Cola HBC. As a responsible economic operator, we consider it important to manage the environmental risks arising from our operations and to make a positive contribution to the protection of our environment and natural resources in many different areas.

We are committed to minimizing the environmental impact of our own operations. Improving energy efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, responsible water management, and the collection and reuse of packaging waste all contribute to a more sustainable environment. In addition, we ensure that the development of responsible, sustainable operating processes goes hand in hand with raising the awareness of our employees and consumers, as we believe that wide-ranging cooperation is the foundation of our success. Our sustainability strategy and objectives are inextricably linked to our business goals, and sustainable operations are the driving force behind our growth.

 A core pillar in our sustainability strategy is the enhanced commitment toward “World Without Waste”, although our initiatives are not ended there. We are continuously working on to conduct sustainable circulation of our products’ whole lifecycle. That includes the procurement process of raw materials, design of products and packaging, production processes and also social engagement for common goals.

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Towards World Without Waste

Plastic waste is a global problem, and we can only solve it if we all work together, from large companies to consumers. We, at Coca-Cola HBC Hungary, are committed to be not only actors, but also drivers of change. Our sustainability approach and goals related to packaging waste were included in a unified framework in our ‘World Without Waste’ strategy announced at the beginning of 2018. As part of this, we are working on creating a sustainable cycle spanning the entire life cycle of our products, which includes the procurement of raw materials, the design and recycling of products and packaging, production processes, and social cooperation for a common goal. The essence of the World Without Waste strategy is the elimination of packaging waste and the creation of a sustainable, circular economy in which all waste becomes raw material, again and again.

World Without Waste: Our Commitment
  • By 2030, all primary packaging must be 100% recyclable - the beverage packaging used by Coca-Cola HBC Hungary is 100% recyclable.
  • An increasing proportion of recycled raw materials must be used for the production of our bottles and aluminium cans - the target is 35% by 2025 and 50% by 2030.
  • We will consent to the collection of 75% of the waste quantity of beverage bottles by 2025 and 100% by 2030.

Packaging Design and Development

Appropriate and sustainable packaging is also essential for the freshness of our products and for food safety aspects. With respect to packaging materials - both PET bottles and aluminium cans - we are constantly making improvements. Our goal is to use sustainable packaging solutions, thereby reducing the environmental impact of our products. We are also investigating the possibilities of using alternative raw materials. We can achieve the recyclability of our products by consciously and innovatively designing their packaging, transforming the use of raw materials, and developing innovative and environmentally friendly packaging technologies. It is important f or us not only to work on solving the problems of the present, but also to take advantage of future opportunities that promote recycling. Our packaging design and development activities are based on three pillars:

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The packaging of our soft drinks has been developed several times in recent years in order to offer increasingly sustainable solutions to our consumers and partners.  Thanks to the innovation activities of recent years, the amount of plastic needed to produce PET bottles has decreased by 20 percent compared to 2010. Thanks to the weight reduction of our cans (CAN) packaging, we use 170 tons less aluminum per year for the packaging of canned soft drinks manufactured in Hungary and distributed in 19 countries.

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„Empty bottles also matter”
 

In January 2021, Coca-Cola Hungary launched the campaign ‘Empty bottles also matter’ in order to promote selective waste collection and to reach circular economy and a ‘World Without Waste’. The initiative presented our packaging materials, their characteristics and recycling methods, while also encouraging selective waste collection. Campaign participants received valuable prizes and practical information.

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Paper cups replace plastic cups in our vending machines

We announced in 2021 that we were withdrawing single-use plastic cups typically used in our coffee and other hot drink vending machines from the domestic market and would replace them with 100% recyclable paper cups. The replacement of the plastic cup will be spectacular and attention-grabbing, as in cooperation with Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design we held a graphic design competition for university students. The goal of the contest is for the new paper cup to have a design that supports consumer awareness and draws attention to the importance of keeping waste in circulation, thus encouraging the recycling of paper cups. The winning designs will appear on the paper cups that will gradually replace single-use plastic cups in our company's hot drink vending machines in the first half of 2022. Thus, from more than 1,000 hot drink vending machines across the country, tea, coffee or hot chocolate will be available in fully recyclable paper cups designed to raise consumer awareness.

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Hungarian consumers try Coca-Cola's paper bottle prototype for the first time

On 15 June 2021, a prototype of the paper bottle jointly developed by the Danish startup Paboco and Coca-Cola arrived in Hungary, and Hungarian consumers were the first to participate in its testing. During the first European market test, domestic customers could try the innovatively packaged AdeZ plant-based drink via a purchase on kifli.hu. The online supermarket collected the packaging from all purchasers, and even asked them to help the developers' work by filling out a questionnaire. The 100% recyclable bottle consists of a paper shell, with a recyclable plastic liner and cap suitable for storing liquids.12 In the coming years, we will continue developing this first generation bottle, with the aim of creating one that does not contain plastic in its lining and can be fully recycled as paper.

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100% recyclable KeelClip™ cardboard packaging replaces shrink foil on Coca-Cola aluminium can multipacks

KeelClip™ technology uses a sturdy cardboard roof instead of shrink foil to hold together aluminum cans sold in packs 4 and 6. The cover is made of recyclable cardboard, which consumers can use practically and easily.  With an investment of more than HUF 800 million, the company reduces its plastic consumption in Hungary by almost 230 tons per year. The 100 percent recyclable cardboard material used for KeelClip™ packaging comes from sustainable, responsible forestry and is FSC certified, which guarantees that the marketed products meet the conditions of environmentally and socially responsible production.

In the summer of 2019, Coca-Cola Hungary joined efforts with water management authorities and an NGO and committed to clean up Hungary's second largest river, the Tisza. In the course of the two-years-long Zero Waste Tisza River program, nearly 170 employees of the company have taken part in three actions with the Plastic Cup volunteers, where they have cleaned the river from a total of 7 tonnes of waste. Coca-Cola's global philanthropic arm, The Coca-Cola Foundation supported the programme with 250,000 USD, and as a result, nearly 80 tonnes of waste were taken out of the river in this period.

The Zero Waste Tisza River program gave much more than just short-term waste collection to the river and program participants: they started GPS-based tracking for waste mapping, built the first Kisköre River Saver Center and, using plastic as a useful secondary raw material, crafted prototypes of a unique Plastic Kayak. Based on the successes of the last years, the program has earned its next phase and another $150,000 grant, thus the Tisza clean-up and education program can continue for another full year from September 2021. In this next phase, the goal is to execute programs that can reach significant behaviour change at the source of the river Tisza, to get closer to the sources of the problem and to find a long-term solution.


BACKGROUND OF THE COLLABORATION

A significant amount of driftwood, organic material and communal waste go down in the river Tisza with the floods every year. In 2019, after the spring floods, a record amount of waste consisting of driftwood and household garbage – mainly plastic – has hit the Kisköre dam again. The size of the drift-field reached 17,000 square metres and was more than 3 metres high right at the dam. A collaboration was needed to effectively solve this problem. Water management authorities, civilian and industry players – the General Directorate of Water Management, Plastic Cup and CocaCola Hungary announced in the summer of 2019 that they were prepared to manage the challenge collectively. The Plastic Cup has held waste collecting activities on the Upper Tisza for years, which the CocaCola joined so that they could help manage the situation with its employees volunteer work and a financial support of 250,000 USD (approx. 73 million HUF) provided by the global foundation of the company. The Zero Waste Tisza River program was launched in the summer of 2019, aimed at providing constant protection, waste collection and recycling – by cleaning up the river in an increasing proportion.


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Employees of Coca-Cola Hungary actively contributed to the implementation and the success of the project.

Nearly 70 enthusiastic employees participated in the cleaning of the Kisköre section of the river on the 26th of July 2019. On this day, volunteers of the company and Plastic Cup collected the waste – mostly plastic – stuck in the reeds and floating on the surface of the water into bags. The bags full of waste were collected by the PETényi “waste-eater boat” the peculiarity of which being that it hovers on many plastic bottles formerly removed from Tisza. Their hard work was reflected by the numbers at the end of the day as nearly 1,5 tonnes of waste were gauged. The 1,5 tonnes of waste were sorted out and recycled properly after that.

 

During the second activity on the 27th of September, nearly 100 Coca-Cola employees travelled to the port of Tiszanána, Dinnyéshát, to join the cause of the World Cleanup Day on the 21st of September. The participants collected waste from the water surface, reeds, and floodplains on canoe, and they also sorted the waste to recycle the suitable pieces. The results of this second action exceeded the first: they cleaned Tisza of 170 bags and more than 1,8 tonnes of waste - including municipal waste, glass, metal, and plastic garbage. Most of these were sorted in place depending on their type.

The third volunteer day took place between the 28th of February and the 1st of March 2020, in Tiszaszalka. During the weekend, one of the most polluted floodplain forests of Tisza, Natura 2000 was cleaned of the waste accumulated there, with the help of Plastic Cup and CocaCola Hungary volunteers. Just like in 2019, CocaCola Hungary provided accommodation and catering for all volunteers participating in the project through The CocaCola Foundation in 2020 as well. The professional handling, delivery and recycling of garbage is ensured by the Association of Environmental Service Providers and Manufacturers, the National Coordination of Waste Management and Asset Management Plc and the North-Alföld Environment Management Ltd. Based on the previous experiences and the high number of participants, approximately 3 tonnes of waste was collected over the three days.

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Thanks to success of the program, the Tisza clean-up and education program can continue for another full year from September 2021, with an additional $150,000 grant. In this next phase, the goal is to execute programs that can reach significant behaviour change at the source of the river Tisza, to get closer to the sources of the problem and to find a long-term solution.

The official closure of the first two-year phase and the announcement about its continuation was topped with a volunteering day on the 27th of August 2021 in Kisköre. More than 50 Coca-Cola volunteers collected nearly 650 kg of waste, which was later sorted with the help of Plastic Cup volunteers.

Since the extension of the program, two more corporate volunteer days have taken place on July 15 and September 16, 2022, hosted by Dinnyéshát and Tiszaderzs. More than 90 Coca-Cola volunteers contributed to the success of the Zero Waste Tisza River program by collecting a total of nearly 2.5 tons of waste.


Coca-Cola Hungary for the circular economy

One of the driving forces of Coca-Cola Hungary's activities is to be at the forefront of replacing take-make-dispose practices in the linear economy. We strive to help build a closed-loop economic model that is built on resource efficiency and innovation, resulting in a smaller environmental footprint.

We want to build a future in which the unnecessary or wasteful use of the raw materials we use is avoided and materials retain their value within the cycle for a long time. In the case of packaging, we want to apply these principles at the stages of design, development, use of raw materials and production. If the cycle is closed, the collection and recycling of packaging is not only a theoretical possibility but a reality, and packaging materials will not endanger the environment or terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

We strive for conscious and responsible use of resources in our manufacturing processes. Our goal is to design our water, waste and energy management in a way that they help reduce our environmental footprint. In the interests of responsible resource management, we are also constantly striving to improve our carbon footprint.

We cannot realize our circular vision alone. The circular economy is built on collaboration, where we work with consumers, decision-makers, industry and professional organisations for a common goal. The creation of a circular economy requires such multi-player cooperation, which we at Coca-Cola Hungary are also trying to encourage. In this way, we strive for active dialogue and cooperation with both suppliers and regulatory bodies and consumers, so that the collection of waste from beverage packaging can take place as much as possible in Hungary.

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