Coca-Cola has agreed to amend environmental claims on its bottle labels following a complaint by the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) and its member groups, supported by ClientEarth and ECOS. The complaint, lodged with the European Commission in November 2023, challenged the accuracy of phrases such as “100% recycled” and “100% recyclable.”
The criticism focused on the use of such claims on bottles where not all components—such as caps, sleeve labels, adhesives, inks, and colourants—are made from recycled materials. As a result, Coca-Cola will now clarify that its “100% recycled” claims refer only to specific parts of the bottle, not the entire packaging.
The changes follow a voluntary dialogue between Coca-Cola and the European Commission’s Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) network, led by the Swedish Consumer Agency and the Hungarian Competition Authority.
Agustín Reyna, Director General of BEUC, said: “It is good news that Coca-Cola has heeded consumers’ call and commits to clarify that its ‘100%’ recycling claims only apply to parts of the bottle. However, if it’s written in small print, the ‘100%’ figure will undoubtedly stick in consumers’ minds and keep giving the impression that it’s harmless to keep buying plastic bottles.”
Reyna added that only a little over half of plastic bottles are currently recycled and that achieving a 100% recycling rate is not realistic. He called for stronger monitoring to ensure companies do not mislead consumers through environmental branding or green imagery that implies plastic packaging is environmentally neutral.
National consumer protection authorities will now monitor Coca-Cola’s implementation of the changes. Other major bottlers operating in the EU Single Market may also face similar scrutiny.
Kamila Drzewicka, Senior Lawyer at ClientEarth, said: “This news sends a clear signal to the entire industry confirming that misleading claims about recycling can pose a legal risk. In our view, this outcome should be seen as the floor, not the ceiling—regulators and courts across the EU now have a clear mandate to take action against such practices, which mislead consumers and breach legal standards.”
The European Commission has also urged Coca-Cola to update its websites and social media to reflect its revised labelling commitments and to avoid combining recyclable claims with other green marketing imagery that may give a false impression of environmental impact.
