By Toyosi Olajide
Coca-Cola Nigeria is targeting 15 percent collection and recycling this year to promote environmental sustainability.
Amaka Onyemelukwe, Director, Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability for Coca-Cola Nigeria says efforts to stem the tide of environmental degradation has seen the company making huge investments in leadership, fostering industry collaborations, encouraging investments, and attracting international intervention, including funding.
To achieve the target, she says the company and its bottling partner, Nigerian Bottling Company through funding from the Coca-Cola Foundation, would increase its investments to scale PET collection across the country as well as drive required behavioral changes. She adds that the Coca-Cola Foundation will be investing over $2million to scale up collection across the six geographical zones and drive behavioral change projects in the year.
“Our goal is to achieve our 2030 ambitious goal of enabling 100 percent collection for every packaging we put in the market,’’ she emphasizes.
She further states that the funding will be through the Foundation in partnership with a Non-Governmental Organization and a waste aggregator. Through this, a mini-factory has been set up in Delta State for the conversion of PET bottles into strapping belts which would be inaugurated in the second quarter of the year, she reveals.
She adds: “We are aware that more investors have begun to have the confidence to invest in the setup of recycling plants to further drive positive action, which will be commissioned later in 2022. In 2021, over $1.1million in grants were awarded to various NGO partners and social ventures to drive recycling initiatives in various communities. It’s our resolve to open up the sector for more participation, with a view to attracting counterpart funding from the international community. This is based on the prospects we see in the recycling sector that can produce thousands of jobs for the teeming population.”
Onyemelukwe also calls on individuals and corporates to make the environment better by embracing behavioral change. The success story of Coca-Cola’s leadership is in the establishment of a coalition known as the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance (FBRA), an industry partnership among Coca-Cola, Nigerian Bottling Company, Nestle Plc., 7UP Bottling Company, and Nigerian Breweries, partners coming together to build a sustainable economy for food and beverage packaging which has evolved to a 21-member coalition championing environmental sustainability in the food and beverage sector.
“Our journey to a world without waste requires that we all come together in collective action for a litter-free world. Our consumers in local communities are being educated and enlightened about the importance of waste management to aid our advocacy in the recovery of recyclable materials.”
She highlights the fact that a greener environment remains a priority for Coca-Cola, which is why environmental issues are considered business enablers that sit at the core of all their decision-making process.