BCP Business & Management WTED 2022

Volume 33 (2022)

Reasons and analysis of Coca-Cola's greenwashing

Zishen Lin1, *
1University of Shanghai for science and technology, Shanghai, China
*Corresponding author: SBC-20-7085@sbc.usst.edu.cn
Abstract. As time goes on, businesses have a huge impact on the environment, with the overuse of
available resources and the release of pollutants being global issues. People are also becoming
more and more concerned about the environment, which means that some people will spend extra
money to support environmentally friendly products to protect the environment and reduce pollution.
This is where companies come in to advertise their products under the banner of being
environmentally friendly. This paper discusses whether a series of actions by Coca-Cola, one of the
world's biggest plastic polluters and in recent years, has also announced a number of sustainable
visions during this period, by analysing the impact of Coca-Cola on human health and the
environmental impact of the plastic bottles and water pollution produced by Coca-Cola, and taking
into account the sustainable development strategies implemented by Coca-Cola in recent years and
the results of their implementation, it is concluded that Coca-Cola's sustainable strategy is
greenwashing.
Keywords: Coca-Cola, greenwashing, water contamination, plastic pollution.

1. Introduction
Coca-Cola is a long-established multinational company that has been loved by people around the
world since 1886, but underneath its rapid growth and active corporate social responsibility is one of
the world's biggest plastic polluters, and not only does its increasing plastic production year after year
have a huge impact on the global environment, but water pollution from its factories also has a deep
impact on local people [1,2]. In addition, many of its products are controversial in that they claim to
be healthy beverages that can even be quoted by healthy people. Even though many environmental
groups have sued Coca-Cola for their actions, they have not been taken seriously.
The main objective of this paper is to examine whether the sustainable development strategies
implemented by Coca-Cola in recent years are greenwashing. The paper begins with an introduction
to Coca-Cola and the global pollution situation, then analyses whether Coca-Cola is greenwashing
and its impact on individuals, the environment and society through health, plastic pollution and water
pollution, and concludes that what Coca-Cola is doing is greenwashing.

2. Industry and company status

2.1 Introduction to Coca-Cola
The largest beverage corporation in the world, Coca-Cola was founded in 1886 and has its
headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, occupying for two of the top three beverages in the world. Its
products are available in over 200 countries worldwide. As a major company known around the world,
Coca-Cola has a responsibility to people's health and the environment. Coca-Cola has 200 brands
worldwide and thanks to the excellent marketing of The Coca-Cola Company, its products are
available in over 200 countries worldwide [3, 4]. While being the largest beverage company in the
world they also face many obstacles with their products being unhealthy and implementing a
sustainability strategy that is considered greenwashing.
2.2 The current state of environmental pollution in the world
Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing issues of the 21st century, and plastic waste
is almost everywhere. The situation has been very serious and action needs to be taken as soon as

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possible. Plastic waste is even making its way into the sea, where 8g million pieces of plastic waste
pollute our waters every day and destroy the habitats of hundreds of species. Today there are
approximately 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic waste in the ocean, weighing a total of 269,000 tonnes.
Additionally, studies show that the worldwide plastic usage is increasing at an 8% yearly pace, with
annual consumption of plastic reaching over 700 million tonnes in 2030 [5]. Plastic bottles are hard
to degrade and also can keep in the soil and water bodies for a long time, polluting the land and marine
environment. It is estimated that more than 8 million tonnes of plastic are discarded in the oceans
each year and it is predictions that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish in the
ocean [6]. Plastic is already inevitably present in our daily lives and is becoming a serious social and
environmental problem. As the population grows, if left unchecked, plastics will become more and
more numerous and will have a greater impact on the environment.
2.3 The Coca-Cola Company Sustainability Status
Coca-Cola’s sustainability strategy is divided into 7 components, ESG resource Sustainable
Packaging, Water Stewardship, In Our Product, Sustainable Agriculture, Climate Action, Product
Quality & Safety [4]. Despite its ongoing sustainability activities, Coca-Cola still receives a lot of
criticism from three sources, firstly the unhealthiness of Coca-Cola as a beverage, which contains a
lot of sugar leading to obesity and other health problems, and then the carbon footprint of Coca-Cola,
with 1L of Coca-Cola creating 346g of carbon dioxide emissions. Finally, there is the issue of plastic
bottles, with Coca-Cola being one of the world's largest producers of plastic waste.
In the 136 years since its inception, Coca-Cola has made 34 sustainable contributions and has claimed
to collect and recycle 100% of its packaging by 2030, meaning that Coca-Cola will recycle every
bottle of beverage packaging they sell. But this policy conflicts with Coca-Cola's behaviour,
considering that it is not only the largest beverage firm, but also the world's biggest plastic producer,
having been named the world's worst plastic polluter for three years running. It consumes almost
200,000 plastic bottles each minute and generates 2.9 million tonnes of plastic garbage annually [7].
In 2021, Coca-Cola produced 25 billion plastic bottles, more than the previous year. This is why many
people criticise Coca-Cola for being greenwashing [2].

3. Why Coca-Cola is greenwashing

3.1 Definition of Greenwashing
Greenwashing is the practice of companies masquerading as environmental friends, attempting to
hide their aim of increasing profits while ostensibly claiming environmental responsibility, in order
to preserve and expand their markets and influence. Greenwashing is a form of marketing in which
companies deceive consumers into believing that their products are environmentally friendly. Unlike
green marketing, which is a marketing strategy that responds to the demands of the sustainable
development strategy of the times and focuses on protecting the ecological and environmental
protection of the earth, companies take environmental protection as the guiding ideology of their
business and take consumers' green consumption as the centre and starting point [8, 9]. However,
greenwashing is a false or exaggerated propaganda that misleads consumers. According to a survey
in 2015 by Nielsen’ Global Corporate Sustainability Report that 66% of global consumers are
prepared to pay more for items that are more environmentally friendly products, and among
millennials, this percentage reaches 72% [10]. Therefore, in order to gain more consumers, companies
will package themselves with many seemingly sustainable strategies. Greenwashing will not only
mislead consumers, but will also slow down the development of sustainable development activities,
leading to damage to the reputation of companies that are actually doing environmental protection,
lowering the status of environmentally friendly products in the minds of consumers and causing them
to stop paying for environmentally friendly products.

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3.2 Coca-Cola's health, water pollution, plastic pollution issues

3.2.1 Health issues
Coca-Cola has been criticised for its health problems. According to expert tests, four main
components of Coca-Cola have been found to affect health, the first being caffeine, which according
to the list of carcinogens published by IARC, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)
is Group III carcinogen, i.e. a carcinogen which cannot yet be classified, and may lead to caffeine
dependence in the event of long-term intake. Caffeine dependence includes addiction and a range of
physical and psychological adverse reactions. The second harmful ingredient is carbon dioxide, which
is the main ingredient that makes Coca-Cola so enjoyable to drink. Carbon dioxide can always inhibit
the bacteria in the drink, but it can also inhibit the beneficial bacteria in the body from working, at
the same time. Drinking large amounts of Coca-Cola can easily lead to bloating and even damage to
the digestive system. The third harmful ingredient is phosphoric acid, which is a medium to strong
acid that affects the acid-base balance of the body and can affect the bones and lead to osteoporosis.
Finally, there is the issue of sugar. Coca-Cola gets all its sweetness from sugar, with 10.6 grams of
sugar for every 100 ml of Coca-Cola, and 140 calories in a 350 ml bottle. Too much sugar in the drink
is absorbed by the body to produce calories, and long-term consumption can lead to obesity and
diabetes [11, 12].
3.2.2 Water contamination and waste issues
Coca-Cola's water pollution has two main aspects, the first is water pollution caused by plastic
bottles flowing into the water (sea or river etc.) the second is pollution caused by the production
process. With 1.9 billion people consuming Coca-Cola products every day, bottling plants need
300,000,000,000L of water per year to produce carbonated drinks to meet consumer demand, and
each litre of Coca-Cola requires three litres of water to produce, but 36% of the world's population
live in areas where water is scarce, such as India [13]. Coca-Cola built a bottle production plant in
Kerala, on the Indian coast, but the excessive use of water in this plant caused a serious water shortage
in the area. 65 wells were drilled in an area of 17 hectares, extracting an average of 3,785,410L of
groundwater per day, posing a great threat to the livelihood of the villagers and causing damage to
the local soil and water environment, which has not been repaired. The Coca-Cola plant was one of
the most agriculturally developed areas in India until it was located in the region, but since then
agricultural production has deteriorated year on year due to water pollution and abuse. In addition,
local villagers have accused Coca-Cola of polluting local water sources by using chemicals in the
attack on Coke bottles and discharging them without treatment [14]. Groundwater contamination is
not the only problem, as high levels of cadmium, lead and chromium contamination have been
detected in sludge from the Coca-Cola factory site. Not only in India, but also in China, the Gansu
Cofco Coca-Cola corporation has been accused of fabricating sewage monitoring data to conceal the
fact that it was exceeding the requirement, the corporation modified its automatic monitoring system
for chemical oxygen demand (COD), causing the COD level to drop by roughly 20 times. In addition
to damaging aquatic life and river ecosystems, COD that is over the threshold can also poison humans
through the food chain [15].
3.2.3 Plastic pollution issues
Thanks to Coca-Cola's huge global fan base, with revenues of US$33 billion in 2020 and sales of
1.6 billion bottles per day worldwide [3]. Such a volume of Coke sales generates a huge amount of
plastic bottle pollution. Plastic bottles have an impact because there are so many of them, whether
they are found on beaches, rivers or other places such as parks, Coca-Cola plastic bottles are found.
Coca-Cola has become the world's biggest polluter of plastic while promoting its corporate
positioning as a sustainable and environmentally friendly company. Coca-Cola uses roughly 200,000
plastic bottles every minute and creates over 290 million tonnes of plastic annually, or nearly one-
fifth of all PET bottle manufacturing worldwide and more than the next three biggest polluters in the
world, Nestle, Pepsi and Mondelēz, combined [5]. Break Free From Plastic reports that plastic

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produces 108 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year, with Coca-Cola emitting 14.9 million
tonnes. 13,834 brands of Coca-Cola plastic were recorded in 51 countries in 2020. The large number
of Coca-Cola plastic bottles has a huge impact on the global environment, both on land and in the
oceans [16, 17].
3.4 The impact of Coca-Cola's greenwashing behaviour
3.4.1 The impact on individuals
Firstly, for the average individual consumer, greenwashing increases the cost of purchasing the
product, as they have to first identify whether the product is one in which greenwashing exists, and
the company's additional promotional costs for the product are ultimately borne by the consumer.
Secondly, greenwashing discourages consumers from supporting genuinely environmentally friendly
products and can lead to a loss of trust in the environmental contribution of other products and
therefore to a loss of interest in green products. Finally, greenwashing is not only ineffective but also
harmful to consumers' health [18].
3.4.2 The impact on environment
Plastic pollution is a global problem that continues to affect the human condition. Plastic waste
typically lingers in nature for 200-500 years and is hard to breakdown, which leads to long-lasting,
serious ecological issues. It would take a long time to dispose of plastic waste in landfill, and plastic
bottles, etc. being buried in the soil can cause affect the uptake of water and nutrients, resulting in
lower crop yields. If animals eat the plastic debris in the soil, it can cause disease, and it can travel
down the food chain, eventually harming humans. In recent years, more and more waste plastic has
been found in the oceans, and 22 kilograms of plastic were found in the belly of a pregnant sperm
whale carcass off the coast of Sardinia, in a stark illustration of the dire impact of plastic on the global
environment [19]. Based on an examination of sea salt made in China, the researcher discovered
hundreds of microscopic plastic particles each kilogram of salt, which means that consumers would
eat around 1,000 plastic particles per year based on the current recommended nutrient levels. Plastic
particles are easily absorbed by plankton, shellfish and other marine life and retained in the food chain,
ultimately harming humans, and nanoscale plastic fragments can even enter the inside of cells and
cause tissue damage [20].
3.4.3 The impact on society and the enterprise itself
For society, greenwashing affects people's attitude towards environmentally friendly products and
creates a bad social climate, which is not conducive to the implementation of more environmentally
friendly policies by the government or the development of truly environmentally friendly enterprises.
Greenwashing has also had a negative impact on society in terms of plastic pollution and water
pollution, for example, if people believe companies that use greenwashing to promote themselves as
being good for the environment, then plastic pollution and water pollution will become more and
more serious. In the face of the global problem of plastic pollution, plastic producing petrochemical
plants often dump plastic waste in developing countries, affecting people of colour and low-income
countries and societies, and increasing environmental spending in already economically
underdeveloped regions, to the detriment of global development [17,19]. For the company itself,
while this practice may increase sales in the short term, it is a very foolish move in the long term, as
it not only damages the reputation the company has built up over the years, but also exposes it to a
large number of lawsuits from environmental groups, like the one Earth Island filed against Coca-
Cola, where such public interest groups filed a lawsuit on behalf of consumers to mitigate against
illegal practices. If successful, it would effectively prevent Coca-Cola from continuing its
greenwashing and serve as a wake-up call to other companies [21].

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4. Conclusion
It makes sense to explore the sustainability strategies of large companies like Coca-Cola, as these
industry leaders can serve as role models and lead the industry in the right direction. The impact of
Coca-Cola's continued failure to reduce its use of plastic is enormous. Coca-Cola has often said that
it is avoiding pollution, yet it has nonetheless been using harmful single-use plastic packaging. In
other words, Coca-Cola has been working on projects that are cosmetic, and the environmental
campaigns and promises it has made are like a form of external public relations. The fact that Coca-
Cola produces and uses more plastic year on year and the implementation of Coca-Cola's
sustainability strategy is proof enough that it is a greenwashing company. In an era where
environmental protection is becoming increasingly important, the plastic pollution and water
pollution that Coca-Cola brings with it have different levels of impact on individuals, the environment
and society. For individuals, it can reduce enthusiasm for environmentally friendly products, which
can be detrimental to the development of environmentally friendly brands. For society the bad culture
of greenwashing is not only detrimental to the sale of environmentally friendly products, but also to
the sustainable development of society. For the environment, if plastic continues to be used without
restraint, it is ultimately human beings who will suffer the consequences.

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