What is the greenwash scandal with Coca-Cola?

Greenwashing, also called green sheen, is a form of advertising or marketing spin in which green PR and green marketing are deceptively used to persuade the public that an organization’s products, aims, and policies are environmentally friendly.

What is the greenwash scandal with Coca-Cola?

It focuses on the firms’ claims that the single-use, plastic water bottles they supply are either 100% recycled or 100% recyclable bottles. But BEUC argues that this is misleading as the bottles are never made entirely of recycled materials.

Coca-Cola said its packaging claims can be substantiated, and Nestlé said it was cutting the use of plastic packaging. Danone said it was continuing to invest in recycling infrastructure. Companies are accused of greenwashing when they brand something as more eco-friendly, green, or sustainable than it is.

In response, Coca-Cola said it was “working to reduce the amount of plastic packaging we use, and we’re investing to collect and recycle the equivalent of the packaging we use”.