In a step towards achieving its vision of a circular economy for packaging, Coca-Cola HBC has inaugurated a new recycled plastic (rPET) production facility in Romania.

A bottling partner to The Coca-Cola Company, HBC is now poised to deliver nearly 50% rPET usage across its EU and Swiss markets by the end of 2023 – an achievement which comes ahead of the 2025 deadline set by the UNESDA circular packaging vision for EU markets.

This project, which followed an €11 million investment, including €3.5 million of state aid, showcases Coca-Cola HBC’s commitment to sustainability. Coca-Cola HBC Romania, through this facility, is now producing rPET in-house, ensuring a consistent supply of high-quality rPET for its 100% recycled bottle portfolio.

Romania has now become the first market within the Coca-Cola HBC Group to harmonise three key pillars of circularity: deploying 100% recycled bottles across its entire portfolio, establishing an in-house rPET production facility, and gearing up for the launch of a deposit return scheme (DRS) to facilitate the collection of bottles and cans for further recycling.

This latest project sees Coca-Cola HBC Romania as the first beverage producer in the market to produce rPET in-house and marks the third rPET decontamination facility in operation across Coca-Cola HBC’s markets.

In 2022, Coca-Cola HBC made strides by utilising 22% of rPET plastic across its EU and Swiss markets, demonstrating a substantial commitment to environmentally responsible practices.

With this new investment and ongoing transitions to recycled bottle portfolios in markets such as Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Ireland and Northern Ireland, Coca-Cola HBC is well on track to achieve nearly 50% rPET utilisation in EU and Swiss markets by the close of 2023.

The opening of the new facility is in line with Coca-Cola HBC’s dedication to achieving net-zero emissions throughout its value chain by 2040. As packaging accounts for approximately one-third of Coca-Cola HBC’s carbon footprint, the company has prioritised its efforts to reduce emissions and create a more sustainable future.

The benefits of producing food-grade rPET are manifold, with one of the most significant being a substantial reduction in emissions across the entire value chain. Bottles crafted from recycled PET have an 80% lower carbon footprint compared to virgin PET resin.

Moreover, the production line powering the rPET facility operates on 100% renewable energy sources, reinforcing Coca-Cola HBC’s commitment to clean and sustainable manufacturing practices.

Over the past two years, Coca-Cola HBC has invested a total of €377 million in sustainability initiatives that align with its corporate agenda. Remarkably, since 2010, while global emissions have been on the rise, Coca-Cola HBC has managed to halve its direct emissions and achieve

Zoran Bogdanovic, CEO of Coca-Cola HBC, commented: “I’m very proud of the progress we are seeing in our sustainability agenda and our mission to create a world without waste. At Coca-Cola HBC, our purpose is to ‘Open Up Moments that Refresh us All’ and this means that, beyond the functional refreshment that we provide, we strive to refresh our communities and the environment through the work that we do.”

He added: “We are working to produce and deliver our drinks in more sustainable ways and in packaging that has a life beyond its initial use – and Romania is a great example of how we can work collaboratively with our stakeholders and the wider industry to create a circular economy for packaging”.

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