# The Coca-Cola Company > Coca-Cola reports that 99% of its packaging was designed to be recycled in 2025, with 30% recycled material across primary packaging and 20% recycled PET in packaging. The useful work is market specific: match one bottle or can format to a documented collection stream, recycled-content grade and bottler acceptance. One working view of Coca-Cola’s brand portfolio, franchise bottling network, packaging material footprint, and reported residual streams, read against the fact that the parent company manufactures very little of what it sells. - Industry: Agriculture & Food - Collection: Active - Regions: Africa, North America - Countries: United States - Materials: Aluminum, Glass, Organics, Paper and fiber, PFAS, Plastics - Processes: Recycling, Composting, Energy recovery - Evidence through: 2026-09-18 - Canonical URL: https://www.materialtransition.com/library/the-coca-cola-company ## Reported scale and scope - **FY2025 revenue:** $47.94B (December 31, 2025 · SEC) - **TRI facility leads:** 3 (2024 U.S. match, unresolved) - **Equity-method bottlers:** 5 (Publicly traded, disclosed stakes) - **Brand portfolio:** 200+ (Company reported) - **Packaging design goal:** 2030 (World Without Waste targets) ## Company flow Public evidence, arranged around the physical system rather than the corporate org chart. Coca-Cola's defining structural fact: the parent company mostly sells concentrate and licenses a brand, it does not mostly manufacture. 01 · MATERIALS IN #### Concentrate, sweeteners, CO2 Flavor concentrate, sweeteners, caramel color, acidulants, and carbon dioxide enter a small number of company-run concentrate and syrup plants. Public category signal 02 · MAKE #### Concentrate manufactured by KO; beverages made by bottlers The Coca-Cola Company manufactures and ships concentrate/syrup. Licensed bottling partners add water and sweetener, carbonate, package, and distribute the finished drink. Franchise structure signal 03 · PRODUCTS OUT #### 200+ brands across sparkling, water, juice, dairy, coffee Trademark Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, Dasani, Minute Maid, fairlife, Costa Coffee, Powerade, BODYARMOR, and regional brands. Company described 04 · WASTE OUT #### Packaging waste and facility-level listed chemicals A 2024 TRI match found one company-side facility (Auburndale, FL) reporting managed nitrate compounds. Bottler-side manufacturing waste sits outside this scope. Listed-chemical view, parent-only #### What is public now Reporting segments Europe, Middle East & Africa; Latin America; North America; Asia Pacific; Global Ventures; Bottling Investments Business model Concentrate/syrup manufacturer and brand owner; finished-beverage manufacturing is licensed out to a bottling network Public plant signal 3 U.S. TRI facility leads under parent-name match; ownership and operating control not yet verified for any of the three Scope note The Coca-Cola Company manufactures concentrate and syrup while licensed bottlers make finished beverages; this page does not identify a specific bottler-format flow. #### What the public record tells us **Procurement signal:** KO's own manufacturing footprint is small and concentrate-focused. The overwhelming majority of PET resin, aluminum, glass, and closure procurement volume sits inside legally separate bottling partners: some KO holds a minority stake in, several it does not own at all. **Packaging signal:** World Without Waste (launched January 2018) is the company's public packaging program: recyclable-by-design packaging, 50% recycled material by 2030, and collecting a bottle or can for every one sold by 2030. A 2021 update added a target of 25% reusable/refillable packaging by 2030. **Waste signal:** Matched 2024 TRI records show one Coca-Cola-parent facility (Auburndale, FL) reporting nitrate compound management. This is a single-chemical, single-facility, U.S.-only view. It says nothing about total system packaging waste, which is overwhelmingly a bottler-side and post-consumer question. #### Regulatory and certification signals Regulatory watchlist EU PPWR & Single-Use Plastics Directive, U.S. state EPR laws, India EPR rules, UK Plastic Packaging Tax, TRI, RCRA, TSCA/PFAS Certification families ISO 14001, Bonsucro, Rainforest Alliance/SAI Platform, FSC/PEFC, CDP Water Security & Climate Change How to use this view Connect each requirement to the packaging format, bottler entity, and jurisdiction before treating it as applicable #### Innovation and recovery signals Material innovation PlantBottle (plant-based PET), rPET, a fiber-based bottle prototype with Paboco, aluminum bottle and cup formats Recovery pathways Bottle-to-bottle rPET, can-to-can aluminum, returnable-glass and refill-PET loop systems Evidence boundary The cited sources do not establish a named bottler's packaging grade, food-contact approval, delivered economics, or one uniform global plant profile. ## Who actually controls the physical system A parent brand is not a plant. Coca-Cola's production footprint is split across company-run concentrate operations, majority-owned bottling units, publicly traded equity-method bottlers, and fully independent franchise bottlers. Relationship types kept separate #### Control hierarchy Parent **The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO)** Owns brands and formulas; manufactures and sells concentrate and syrup to the bottling network Public parent Owned & operated **Concentrate & syrup plants** Company-run manufacturing sites producing concentrate, syrup, and beverage bases; exact global plant count not itemized in current public source set Owned and operated Majority-owned **Bottling Investments Group & Coca-Cola Beverages Africa** Company-controlled bottling operations retained (BIG) or majority-owned alongside Gutsche Family Investments (CCBA, ~14 Sub-Saharan African countries) Owned, operating control held Equity-method **Publicly traded bottling partners** KO holds a disclosed minority equity stake; bottler is independently managed and separately listed JV, operating control unresolved Franchise, no equity **Independent bottlers** Licensed to manufacture and distribute under the Coca-Cola trademark; no disclosed KO ownership stake Strategic supplier / licensee #### Major bottling partners | Bottler | Relationship | KO stake | Primary territory | |-|-|-|-| | Coca-Cola Europacific Partners plc (LSE/Euronext/Nasdaq: CCEP) | Equity-method, publicly traded | ~19, 20% (reported, verify current filing) | Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific, Indonesia | | Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. (Nasdaq: COKE) | Equity-method, publicly traded | ~30, 35% economic interest (reported, verify current filing) | Southeastern, mid-Atlantic, and Midwestern United States | | Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: KOF) | Equity-method, publicly traded | ~28% (reported, verify current filing) | Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Philippines | | Coca-Cola HBC AG (LSE/Athens: CCH) | Equity-method, publicly traded | ~21% (reported, verify current filing) | Central & Eastern Europe, parts of Africa, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland | | Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Holdings Inc. | Equity-method, publicly traded | Minority (reported, verify current filing) | Japan | | Swire Coca-Cola Ltd (Swire Pacific) | Independent franchise bottler | No disclosed KO equity | Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, 13 western U.S. states, Cambodia | | Arca Continental, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV: AC) | Independent franchise bottler | No disclosed KO equity | Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, U.S. Southwest | | Coca-Cola Îçecek A.Ş. (BIST: CCOLA, Anadolu Efes-led) | Independent franchise bottler | Minority KO stake reported | Turkey, Central Asia, Middle East, Pakistan | **Do not treat these percentages as current fact.** Equity stakes shift with buybacks, secondary offerings, and refranchising deals. Confirm the live figure in each bottler's own most recent annual report or proxy before using it in a decision. #### U.S. TRI facility leads (parent-name match, unresolved) | Facility | TRI ID | Reported chemical | |-|-|-| | Coca-Cola N.A., Auburndale, FL | 33823CCCLN75MAI | Nitrate compounds | | Coca-Cola North America, Northampton, MA | 01060MDTLN45IND | Nitrate compounds | | Caribbean Refrescos, Inc., Cidra, PR | 00639CRBBNSTATE | Nitrate compounds | All three are candidate facility leads from parent-name matching against 2024 U.S. TRI records. None is confirmed owned-and-operated versus bottler-operated. Excluded from any owned/operated plant count until ownership and operating control are verified. **2017 refranchising:** Coca-Cola divested the great majority of company-owned U.S. bottling and production territory (Coca-Cola Refreshments) to Coca-Cola Consolidated, CCEP, Swire Coca-Cola, and other bottlers, completing the U.S. refranchising process that year, which is the direct cause of KO's own U.S. manufacturing footprint being this small today. ## Products leaving the system Publicly described brand families, grouped by category. Ownership status is shown because it is not uniform: some are wholly owned, one is a minority equity investment only. Company described #### Trademark Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Diet Coke/Coca-Cola Light, and limited-edition Coca-Cola Creations variants. Wholly owned · flagship sparkling trademark #### Sparkling flavors Sprite, Fanta, and a large set of regional sparkling flavor brands sold market-by-market. Wholly owned · second- and third-largest sparkling brands globally #### Water & hydration Dasani, smartwater (glacéau), Topo Chico, vitaminwater, Powerade, and BODYARMOR. Wholly owned · BODYARMOR fully acquired 2021 #### Juice, dairy & plant-based Minute Maid, Simply, innocent, Del Valle, fairlife dairy and protein shakes, and AdeS plant-based drinks. Wholly owned · fairlife fully acquired 2020 #### Coffee & tea Costa Coffee (retail chain and packaged coffee), Georgia (Japan), Gold Peak, and Fuze Tea. Wholly owned · Costa Coffee acquired 2019 #### Strategic equity investment Monster Beverage Corporation, an energy-drink maker in which Coca-Cola holds a long-standing minority equity stake. Minority stake only, not an owned brand, not consolidated #### Product and application signal Brand and category are public. Exact SKU-level formulation, flavor-concentrate composition, and packaging-format mix by market are not publicly disclosed. Treat any specific ratio as directional unless sourced to a specific market disclosure. ## Materials entering the system Category-level material families connect Coca-Cola's public ingredient and packaging disclosures to its concentrate business and its bottlers' packaging lines. Public category signals | Material family | Public signal | Transition lens | |-|-|-| | Sweeteners (sucrose, HFCS, non-caloric) | Company disclosed category | Sourcing resilience; reformulation for sugar reduction | | Concentrate & flavor systems (flavor concentrate, caramel color, acidulants, caffeine) | Trade-secret formulation | Not applicable at formulation level: category disclosed, exact formula never public | | Carbon dioxide (carbonation) | Public input, supply-risk disclosed | CO2 supply-shortage exposure across the bottling network | | Packaging resins & metals (PET, aluminum, glass, HDPE closures, paperboard) | Sustainability-report disclosed | Recycled-content sourcing, closed-loop supply | | Agricultural inputs (citrus, coffee, tea, milk) | Company disclosed sourcing programs | Bonsucro sugarcane, sustainable coffee (Costa), and dairy-sourcing programs | #### Financial scale context $47.94B FY2025 revenue (SEC-reported) provides scale context for the concentrate business. It is not a materials-purchasing figure, and it excludes the much larger packaging and ingredient spend that sits inside the separately owned bottling network. #### Material transition focus The practical comparison set: bottle-grade rPET, can-grade recycled aluminum, sugarcane-derived bio-PET (PlantBottle), and fiber-based bottle prototypes, each evaluated at the bottler-plant level, not the parent-company level. ## Packaging and packaged-product exposure Public packaging-format descriptions and the World Without Waste program connect Coca-Cola's brand portfolio to a defined set of material-transition pathways. Packaging use signal #### PET plastic bottles The largest packaging format by unit case globally. PlantBottle technology (since 2009) incorporates plant-based material into PET; rPET content is the primary lever toward the 2030 recycled-content target. #### Aluminum cans Higher average recycled content and a mature closed-loop recycling infrastructure make cans the strongest can-to-can circularity case in the portfolio. #### Glass & returnable systems Returnable, refillable glass bottles remain significant in Latin America, Africa, and parts of Europe, supported by existing reverse-logistics infrastructure at bottler level. #### Cartons, pouches & closures Aseptic cartons for juice and dairy lines (Minute Maid, fairlife), stand-up pouches in select markets, and HDPE/PP closures across all formats. #### S6 · Coca-Cola 2025 packaging progress Official 2025 environmental update reports designed-for-recycling coverage, recycled material in primary packaging and recycled PET use. [6] #### World Without Waste: public 2030 packaging goals Design Make 100% of packaging recyclable, reusable, or compostable by design (company reported timeline: 2025) Use Use at least 50% recycled material across packaging by 2030 (interim milestones have shifted in company reporting since 2018) Collect Collect and recycle the equivalent of a bottle or can for every one sold, by 2030 Reuse Grow reusable/refillable packaging to 25% of beverages sold by 2030 (added in a 2021 program update) **Read this as company-reported progress, not independent verification.** Public reporting on these targets has been restated more than once since 2018; confirm the current-year figure in the most recent Business & Environmental, Social & Governance report before citing a specific percentage. #### Packaging transition opportunities #### Bottle-to-bottle rPET Explore Secure food-grade recycled PET supply at bottler scale to meet the recycled-content target without a resin-quality trade-off. #### Refill infrastructure scale-up Evidence first Map which bottler territories already run returnable-glass logistics before proposing a new refill format elsewhere. ## Reported residual, water & climate signals 2024 TRI data gives a single-facility, single-chemical, U.S.-only view. Water and climate figures come from company sustainability disclosure, not a government registry. Parent-name TRI match plus company-reported ESG data #### Auburndale, FL: 2024 TRI record Coca-Cola N.A., Auburndale, FL (TRI ID 33823CCCLN75MAI) reported management of nitrate compounds in 2024, matched by parent name to The Coca-Cola Co. On-site release 4 lb Total transferred off-site 130,171 lb Recycled (off-site, reported) 127,950 lb Treated (reported) 842 lb Energy recovery (reported) 34,169 lb Disposal 0 lb **Column-level TRI categories require verification** against the EPA's own schema before this breakdown is used in a compliance or procurement context. Treat the totals as reported; treat the category assignment as provisional. #### Two more candidate leads, unresolved **Northampton, MA** and **Cidra, PR** (Caribbean Refrescos, Inc.) also matched under the parent name for 2024 nitrate-compound reporting. Both are excluded from any owned-and-operated count until ownership and operating control are verified. Neither has a confirmed relationship type in the current public source set. #### Water stewardship Coca-Cola has publicly reported replenishing the equivalent of 100% or more of the water used in its finished beverages since 2015, through watershed and community water projects run with local partners. This is a system-wide claim covering bottlers, reported in the company's annual sustainability disclosure, not a per-facility figure. #### Climate commitment Company-reported, science-based target: cut absolute greenhouse gas emissions 25% by 2030 against a 2015 baseline across the full value chain (Scope 1, 2, and 3), with a stated ambition of net-zero emissions by 2050. Packaging and ingredient supply chains are material contributors to the Scope 3 figure. #### Scope limitation TRI parent-name matching only reaches U.S. facilities filed under the Coca-Cola corporate name. The large majority of Coca-Cola-system manufacturing waste, water withdrawal, and emissions physically occur inside legally separate bottling partners, and are reported, if at all, in those bottlers' own disclosures, not in The Coca-Cola Company's TRI or SEC filings. ## Regulatory watchlist, certifications & innovation signals Packaging-focused regulation is the dominant compliance vector; certifications sit mostly on the agricultural and fiber side of the ingredient chain. | Jurisdiction | Framework | Trigger / status | |-|-|-| | European Union | Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation; Single-Use Plastics Directive | Recycled-content mandates, reuse targets, extended producer responsibility fees | | United States (state) | EPR packaging laws (California SB 54, Oregon, Colorado, Maine, Maryland) | Producer fees and recycled-content mandates phasing in through the late 2020s | | India | Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules / EPR | Recycled-content and collection obligations on producers | | United Kingdom | Plastic Packaging Tax | Tax applies to packaging under 30% recycled plastic content | | United States (federal) | TRI, RCRA, TSCA/PFAS | Facility-level chemical reporting and management for matched U.S. sites | Regulatory applicability has not been adjudicated per site, product, or jurisdiction here. This is a watchlist, not a legal conclusion. #### Certification families in play Certificate number, site scope, and current expiry are not verified here. Certification family relevance does not prove an active, in-scope certificate. #### Innovation & capacity signals PlantBottle Reported, since 2009 · up to 30% plant-based PET content Paper bottle (Paboco) Pilot, tested in select markets since 2021 Enhanced/chemical rPET Partnership signal · expanding food-grade recycled PET supply Aluminum bottle & cup formats Company described, select markets Refill/return infrastructure Reported capex commentary · Latin America, Europe, Africa ## Highest-leverage public opportunities Each hypothesis connects a public packaging or ingredient signal to a specific transition pathway, ranked by fit given the franchise-bottling structure. #### Bottle-to-bottle rPET closed loop Screening candidate Secure food-grade recycled PET at bottler scale to close the gap to the 2030 recycled-content target. - Bottler-level offtake commitment - Food-contact and supply qualification - Mass balance and delivered cost #### Can-to-can aluminum recycling Screening candidate Aluminum's high recycled content and infinite recyclability make closed-loop can sourcing the fastest available lever. - Regional scrap and coil supply - Bottler can-line qualification - Recycled-content certificate chain #### Refill and return system scale-up Qualification open Expand returnable glass or refill-PET in bottler territories that already run reverse logistics, rather than building new infrastructure from zero. - Bottler-by-bottler logistics map - Consumer return-rate evidence - Format and washing-line economics #### Agricultural residue valorization Qualification open Citrus peel and pulp from Minute Maid/Simply processing, and coffee chaff and spent grounds from Costa, are directional residual streams pending processor-level evidence. - Processor-level volume and consistency - Feed, compost, or extract-market buyer - Facility ownership confirmation The available sources do not connect a named bottler and packaging format to a measured volume, specification, or substitution project. ## Material Transition editorial interpretation This brief separates the disclosed record from the evidence still needed. Bring the relevant specification, facility or product-family evidence into the review. ## Sources - [1] U.S. EPA TRI - https://www.epa.gov/toxics-release-inventory-tri-program/tri-basic-data-files-calendar-years-1987-present - 2024 U.S. TRI Basic Data Files. Facility, parent, chemical, and management quantities. - [2] U.S. SEC - https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0000021344.json - Company Facts for The Coca-Cola Company, CIK 0000021344. FY2025 revenue and 10-K disclosure. - [3] World Without Waste - https://www.coca-colacompany.com/sustainable-business/packaging-sustainability - Official packaging-sustainability program page: recyclability, recycled content, and collection targets. - [4] Brands directory - https://www.coca-colacompany.com/brands - Official brand and product portfolio listing across all reporting segments. - [5] Business & ESG report - https://www.coca-colacompany.com/reports - Annual Business & Environmental, Social & Governance Report: water, climate, and packaging progress data. - [6] Coca-Cola 2025 packaging progress - https://www.coca-colacompany.com/about-us/faq/sustainability - Official 2025 environmental update reports designed-for-recycling coverage, recycled material in primary packaging and recycled PET use. - [7] Bottler filings - https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&company=coca-cola&type=10-K - CCEP, Coca-Cola Consolidated, Coca-Cola FEMSA, and Coca-Cola HBC public filings, for equity-stake and territory verification. From the Material Transition company brief library: https://www.materialtransition.com/library/the-coca-cola-company