Coca-Cola has faced criticism for allegedly misleading environmental claims during the Olympic Games, particularly regarding its “Zero Waste” initiatives. France Nature Environnement awarded the company a “gold medal for greenwashing” and filed a complaint against its local bottler for deceptive practices. Despite promoting drink fountains, only a small fraction of beverages were served from them, with millions of single-use plastic bottles still consumed. Upcoming European regulations aim to hold companies accountable for such misleading claims.
Coca-Cola’s Controversial Greenwashing Practices
During this summer, France Nature Environnement recognized Coca-Cola with the “gold medal for greenwashing.” The French environmental organization is now escalating its efforts by filing a complaint against Coca-Cola Europacific Partners France (CCEP), the local bottling entity of the American beverage giant. Axèle Gibert, a waste expert at France Nature Environnement, criticized the company’s claims, stating, “Coca-Cola boasted during the Games about a 100% recycling of collected bottles, but to truly honor the event, it should have drastically reduced the production of plastic bottles.”
Misleading Claims About the “Zero Waste” Games
The NGO is calling out the official sponsor for misleading the public into thinking it was preparing for “Zero Waste” Games. However, the reality of their efforts left many surprised. Despite the brand promoting the installation of 700 drink fountains to serve its sodas and Bonaqua water directly into glasses, the deployment was limited to just 11 out of the 35 Olympic venues. This meant only one-fifth of the beverages marketed by Coca-Cola could actually be served from these fountains, according to the company’s own figures. Meanwhile, at most kiosks, vendors were seen pouring drinks from plastic bottles into reusable cups, and overflowing bins of plastic bottles were a common sight.
According to France Nature Environnement, the discrepancy between Coca-Cola’s promises and its actual practices exemplifies “greenwashing.” The organization lamented in a press release, “Coca-Cola has delivered a very sad performance by staging a rehearsed display at its stands: transferring the contents of a plastic bottle into a cup, serving it to a consumer who believes they are using an eco-friendly container, and then discarding the bottle from view.” Consequently, FNE has filed a complaint against CCEP Partners France for misleading commercial practices, which is considered a criminal offense that could lead to a two-year prison sentence and fines up to 300,000 euros.
The DGCCRF, responsible for consumer rights oversight, emphasizes the seriousness of this issue. They noted, “The amount of the fine can be increased, proportionate to the benefits derived from the violation, to 10% of the average annual turnover, or to 50% of the expenses incurred for the advertising or practice constituting the offense.” For a company as large as Coca-Cola, these potential penalties could be substantial.
Additionally, European legislation is evolving to combat such misleading claims. A directive on ecological claims introduced last March aims to regulate environmental marketing promises, compelling companies to substantiate their claims to prevent greenwashing. Although this directive has not yet been integrated into French law, it seeks to shift the burden of proof onto the companies.
Despite its innovative fountain, Coca-Cola’s approach did not eliminate plastic from the equation. France Nature Environnement estimates that approximately 6 million single-use bottles were consumed during the Games. Coca-Cola, which did not respond to our inquiries, had previously acknowledged that plastic bottles constituted 57% of the beverages served, in contrast to 22% from fountains and 21% from reusable glass.
For Coca-Cola, this was not an issue, as they claimed that transferring containers behind the counter ensured that 100% of PET bottles would be recycled. While the optics may not be favorable, it is now up to the courts to determine the true nature of a bottle in a recycling bin. Is recycling equivalent to waste? What truly defines zero waste?