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Live at PRS Day One: Insights from Coca-Cola and Danone, Plus EPR and Responsible Sourcing

The top insights shared from Coca-Cola and Danone, the right perspective on EPR, and the untapped potential of thermoform for PCR.

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CPG stakeholders heard the latest recycling insights from industry experts in Anaheim, California, on Monday, for day one of the Packaging Recycling Summit, presented by Packaging World. Here's what they learned. 

Coca-Cola's collaboration for a closed loop system

Jim Velky, senior director of sustainability at The Coca-Cola CompanyJim Velky, senior director of sustainability at The Coca-Cola CompanyCoca-Cola saw that its aluminum cans and rPET bottles sold at universities, sporting events, and concert venues often did not get recovered and recycled into new food-grade packaging, Jim Velky, senior director of sustainability at The Coca-Cola Company, said at the Summit on Monday.

That’s why it developed a closed-loop solution at select venues, where it validates, collects, processes, and returns its packaging as food grade packaging for the beverage supply chain.

The company couldn’t accomplish this task alone, though. That’s why it collaborated with MRFs, PET reclaimers, and aluminum smelters to assist in that material validation. Velky described how this collaboration creates a “multiplier effect,” helping Coca-Cola to expand its recycling strategy into communities.

“As this material is going from the venue to the MRF, we’re capitalizing on the other material they have there, and we work out trade agreements with these MRFs to make sure that material is going back to Coca-Cola suppliers. In 2023, we were able to capture over 60 million pounds of PET bottles and aluminum cans, and we have plans to double that in the next year," Velky said.

Danone's consumer-focused approach to emissions reduction

It costs more to save on packaging scope 3 emissions than it does anywhere else in an end-to-end supply chain, according to Kory Nook, VP of Packaging R&I at Danone North America, who spoke Monday at the Summit.

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Annual Outlook Report: Sustainability
The road ahead for CPGs in 2025 and beyond—<i>Packaging World</i> editors review key findings from a survey of 88 brand owners, CPG, and FMCG readers.
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