QUEZON CITY, Philippines—Break Free From Plastic’s 2021 global Brand Audit Report revealed that Coca-Cola Company, Universal Robina Corporation, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble, and Mondelez International are the top plastic polluters in the country. The report also showed that Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are ranked as the world’s biggest plastic polluters for the 4th consecutive year.
Reacting to the report, Greenpeace Philippines Campaigner Jefferson Chua said:
“This year’s Brand Audit shows that multinational companies have not learned from our experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic as they still continue business-as-usual practices that harm our planet, our environment, and our communities. Although this is not surprising, it is disappointing that Coca-Cola and other companies continue to ignore people’s call for sustainable practices, such as implementing refill and deposit systems and phasing out single-use plastics, even when they have the resources to do so.
“It is doubly worrying that these are the same companies that spend millions or billions in an attempt to fool the public through their false claims on ‘plastic neutrality’ and lip-service commitments on combating the climate crisis. The report sends a clear message that these actions provide little to no benefit in the people’s fight against the plastic crisis. Instead, they’re causing further destruction as they resort to harmful methods, such as waste-to-energy incineration and co-processing. It is critical that we are able to see through these false solutions by listening to and working with the communities who are disproportionately affected by this excessive plastic pollution.
“We hope that this report will be reviewed by Philippine lawmakers who are in the process of legislating a single-use plastic ban. It is high time that we look into the full life cycle of plastic products by scrutinizing these companies’ false ‘plastic neutrality’ claims, facilitate a just transition to reusable and refillable systems, and hold them accountable for causing environmental and health harms to our most vulnerable communities.”
Global beach cleanups were carried out by more than 11,000 volunteers in 45 countries, including the Philippines, to identify the most common plastic polluters. This year’s Brand Audit found nearly 20,000 Coca-Cola branded products, which represents more pollution than the next two top polluters combined—as has been the case each year since 2019. This suggests that Coca-Cola’s pledge to collect one bottle for every one sold is having little impact on the company’s plastic pollution.
View the full report here: https://act.gp/bffpba2021
Media contact:
Angeli Cantillana
Communications Campaigner, Greenpeace Southeast Asia – Philippines
[email protected] | +63 998 595 9733