Coca-Cola and Heinz Form Landmark Packaging Partnership
The Coca-Cola Company and HJ Heinz have announced a strategic partnership that enables Heinz to produce its ketchup bottles using Coca-Cola’s breakthrough PlantBottle packaging. The PET plastic bottles are made partially from plants and have a lower reliance on non-renewable resources compared with traditional PET plastic bottles. The partnership is an industry-first, and one that both companies hope others will follow to transform how food is packaged around the world.
PlantBottle packaging looks, feels and functions just like traditional PET plastic, and remains fully recyclable. The only difference is that up to 30% of the material is made from plants. The plant material is produced through an innovative process that turns natural sugars found in plants into a key component for PET plastic. Currently, PlantBottle is made using sugarcane ethanol from Brazil, the only source widely recognised by thought leaders globally for its unique environmental and social performance.
Muhtar Kent (left), chairman and chief executive of Coca-Cola, with William Johnson, chairman, president and chief executive of Heinz.
“PlantBottle is revolutionising plastic, and our partnership with Heinz is paving the way for industry-wide collaboration,” says Muhtar Kent, chairman and chief executive of Coca-Cola. “This partnership is a great example of how businesses are working together to advance smart technologies that make a difference to our consumers and the planet we all share.”
Heinz’s adoption of the PlantBottle technology will be the biggest change to its iconic ketchup bottles since they first introduced plastic in 1983.
“The partnership of Coca-Cola and Heinz is a model of collaboration in the food and beverage industry that will make a sustainable difference for the planet,” adds William Johnson, chairman, president and chief executive of Heinz.
The launch of PlantBottle is another important step in Heinz’s global sustainability initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, solid waste, water consumption and energy usage at least 20% by 2015.
Coca-Cola first launched PlantBottle in 2009 on brands that include Coke, Sprite, Fresca, and Dasani water. By using PlantBottle packaging across multiple brands, the company is able to significantly reduce its dependence on non-renewable resources. An initial life-cycle analysis conducted by Imperial College London showed that the use of PlantBottle packaging provides a 12-19% reduction in carbon impact.
