Republic of Panama

Ministry of Education
La Academia Bilingual School

Industrial technology

Members: Ingrid Vega

Jose Fernandez

Level: 12°A

Teacher: Maylin Rodríguez

Date: Monday 20th of November 2023

 Introduction
The Coca-Cola Company is one of the best known and most successful companies
in the soft drink world. It was created by John Stith Pemberton, a pharmacist
from Atlanta, Georgia, in 1886. Pemberton developed the original formula as a
medicinal syrup that claimed to have healing properties. Frank Robinson,
Pemberton's business partner, suggested the name "Coca-Cola" and designed the
distinctive logo that is still used today.

Coca-Cola currently produces 120 billion plastic bottles a year, and 99% of the
plastics are made from fossil fuels, exacerbating the plastic and climate crisis.
What problems might Coca-Cola cause in the future? One of the problems that
Coca-Cola has caused now and in previous years is the excessive use of plastic
containers, which can contribute to ocean pollution and generate waste. On the
other hand, the production of carbonated beverages also requires large amounts
of water. In 2004, it used 283 billion liters of water and this amount coincides
with the amount that it would give the whole world to drink for ten years.
How bad can Coca-Cola be as a polluting industry?
The NGO Tearfund has calculated the greenhouse gas emissions from the open
burning of plastic bottles, sachets and cartons produced by Coca-Cola in
developing countries, where waste can be poorly managed because people do not
have access to collection.
Taking a sample of six developing countries, reflecting the situation worldwide,
the NGO estimated that the burning of plastic packaging put on the market by
companies creates 4.6 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, equivalent to the
emissions from 2 million cars.

Why should we care about the damage Coca-Cola causes to the

environment?
What Coca-Cola currently causes is a problem that damages the ecosystem and
consumers have to worry about what could happen in the coming years if it
continues in the same way.
Some of the damages Coca-Cola causes are: the increase of plastic pollution that
causes contamination in rivers, oceans and land, affecting the environment and
marine life, also the scarcity of water due to the production of beverages that
Coca-Cola makes that require large amounts of water causing little water in the
communities where water is extracted for its production, Furthermore, pressure
on natural resources and consumption of bottled products can put additional
pressure on natural resources, such as water and the materials used in
packaging, and finally, the high risk of contracting diseases such as diabetes
from drinking Coca-Cola, which contains an excess of sugar.
How can Coca-Cola consumers be affected in the long term?
The sweet and refreshing taste of Coca-Cola has the presence of compounds such
as caffeine, atropine and egnonine, which it contains in smaller percentages,
explain the addictive component of Coca Cola. Among the toxic components,
phosphoric acid stands out, which has a corrosive effect. The appearance of
diabetes mellitus, anemia, loss of tooth enamel, aging and obesity, are part of the
harmful effects on health.

How did they measure the sugars in Coca-Cola?

Well, thanks to devices created in the Analytical Chemistry laboratory, called
nickel nanowires, a material "very good for detecting carbohydrates in any type of
substance" because carbohydrates oxidize on nickel surfaces and because this
material has magnetic properties that allow us to manipulate it easily using
magnets.
The story of the Philippines that was affected by Coca-Cola products.
MANILA - In 2013, Coca-Cola Philippines launched a new product for the local
market - Coke Mismo, packaged in a 300-milliliter PET bottle and launched at an
event packed with actors from Glee - the hit TV series - and local celebrities
sponsoring it. Five years later, those same bottles, along with others of similar
size, would become one of the most common items collected during beach
cleanups across the country. By 2018, Coca-Cola had become the top source of
plastic trash in the Philippines, which has been repeated in 2019, according to an
anti-plastic movement's brand audit report.
The report was the result of 484 simultaneous cleanups conducted on September
21, 2019 in 51 countries, including the Philippines, to commemorate World
Cleanup Day. The event had more than 72 000 volunteers collecting almost 480
000 pieces of plastic waste, with 43% of the litter coming from one particular
brand.
"By collecting litter from beaches, streets, homes, offices and parks and then
counting which brands the packaging is from, the movement is holding fast-
moving consumer goods companies accountable for their packaging," the report
says. "Only by highlighting the real culprits can we pressure them to change their
packaging and their destructive, disposable business model."
More than 11 700 PET bottles and other plastic waste collected during the global
campaign came from Coca-Cola. The Philippines accounted for the largest share,
more than 2,800 pieces of Coca-Cola-branded waste recorded in 37 countries.
The company has a long history in the country; the Philippines was the first
Asian country to obtain the brand's bottling and distribution franchise more than
100 years ago.
Another story of damage caused by Coca-Cola in the country of India.
Coca-Cola is Guilty of Causing severe water shortages in communities across
India
Polluting the water and soil around its bottling facilities
Distributing its toxic waste as 'fertilizer' to farmers ell beverages with pesticides in
India - sometimes higher than 30 times the US standards.
Communities surrounding Coca-Cola bottling facilities are facing severe
injustices. A majority of the community members affected by the indiscriminate
practices are also some of the most marginalized communities in India -
indigenous peoples, women, lower class, low-income, landless laborers and small
farmers.
Water and land are central to agriculture and more than 70% of Indues earn their
livelihood from something related to agriculture. Water scarcity and the soil and
water pollution created by Coca-Cola has directly resulted in crop failures -
leading to loss of livelihood and loss of food security for thousands of people in
India. more than half of the Indian population lives below the poverty line, and
the breakdown of agriculture is a matter of life and death for many in India.
ironically, the communities most impacted by Coca-Cola's bottling operations
cannot even afford to buy Coca-Cola products.
Coca-Cola's indiscriminate contamination of the common ground water source is
a long-term problem. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to clean up the
ground water source through technology, and future generations are now subject
to contaminated drinking water, courtesy of Coca-Cola. or they can install pipes
to their homes and pay for clean drinking water, which most cannot afford.
 Because of the problems Coca-Cola has caused, it has
taken action to reduce and combat the damage caused
to the environment.

- Increasingly sustainable packaging: Coca-Cola is eliminating

unnecessary plastic from packaging. In 2019 it replaced the plastic wrap
on 200ml can multipacks with 100% recyclable cardboard from
sustainable forests and, with its CanCollar® system for the Balearic
market, it has removed plastic rings from its can packs, replacing them
with recyclable cardboard groupers.

 collect and recycle the equivalent of 100% of the containers it markets: this
is Coca-Cola's ambitious Mares Circulares project in Spain, which every
year removes hundreds of tons of waste from the coasts, protected areas
and seabeds of Spain and Portugal.

 Reducing the carbon footprint: Between 2010 and 2022, Coca-Cola

reduced water consumption in beverage manufacturing processes by
18.7%. Protecting water is a priority for Coca-Cola, as it is not only the
main ingredient of its products, but also essential for the ecosystems and
communities in which it operates.
  Beverages made with sustainably sourced ingredients: Coca-Cola has set a
target that 100% of its main agricultural ingredients will be sustainably
sourced. Thus, by 2022, 100% of the sugar, paper and paper pulp used by
Coca-Cola in Spain was obtained respecting nature and from suppliers
that complied with its Sustainable Agriculture Guiding Principles (SAGP).

The repercussions Coca-Cola faces if the problems are not solved are:

 Brand Reputation: Problems, whether related to product quality,

questionable business practices, social or environmental controversies, can
affect Coca-Cola's brand reputation as, public perception can significantly
influence consumer loyalty.

 Financial Impact: Operational problems, fines or loss of market share can

have a direct impact on the company's financial results. This could affect
revenues, profitability and stock value.

 Legal Actions: If the problems faced by Coca-Cola have legal implications,

the company could face legal actions and lawsuits, which could result in
significant costs and reputational damage.

 Regulatory Pressure: In case of controversies related to food safety,

advertising, sustainability or any other regulated aspect, the company
could face regulatory pressures that could lead to changes in business
practices or sanctions.

 Consumer Perception: Consumer perception of a company's ethics and

social responsibility can affect purchasing decisions. Ethical or social
issues can alienate consumers and affect sales.
The Company works daily to foster a culture of waste management throughout its
operations, focusing on efficient design, integration of recycled materials in
plastic packaging and post-consumer collection.
Coca-Cola FEMSA has invested in the development of its PET packaging, making
it lighter and integrating an average of 21% recycled PET resin, in line with its
2020 goal of reaching an average of 25%. This has led to savings of more than 25
thousand tons of PET resin since 2011.
In post-consumer collection, since 2002, Coca-Cola FEMSA has been part of
ECOCE, an organization that promotes PET recycling in Mexico. After 17 years, it
has achieved a rate close to 60% of apparent PET consumption in Mexico, making
it the most efficient collection model in Latin America and one of the best
practices in the world.
The company collaborates with different civil society organizations in Latin
America. In Brazil, through partnerships with the beverage industry, it has
collection rates higher than 50% and through "Reciclar pelo Brasil" improves
conditions in the collection chain. In Colombia, Coca-Cola FEMSA and the main
beverage companies have joined the "RE Movement", an initiative that seeks to
optimize the collection and recycling system of post-consumer recyclable
materials, mainly PET bottles, through training and communication campaigns
and schemes to strengthen and dignify close to 300 recyclers and their
cooperatives in Cartagena, Barranquilla and Santa Marta. With this initiative, the
companies seek to increase the PET collection rate by 30%, approximately 1,200
tons of PET in addition to those already collected in that region of Colombia.

How much will Coca-Cola FEMSA achieve by reducing environmentally harmful

waste in the coming years?
Coca-Cola FEMSA with the investments it is making and will make in the future,
there will be a great reduction of waste that pollutes the environment, possibly
reaching a 99.9% reduction of pollution caused by themselves in the following
years if they continue to invest and get help from other countries.
 Conclusion
Coca-Cola, as one of the world's largest beverage producers, has a significant
impact on the environment throughout its production, distribution and packaging
disposal chain. Major concerns include the massive use of plastic, consumption
of natural resources and waste generation.
To address these issues, it is essential that Coca-Cola and other companies take
proactive measures to reduce their environmental footprint. This involves
adopting sustainable practices, such as implementing more environmentally
friendly packaging, promoting recycling, resource efficiency and investing in
renewable energy sources. In addition, transparency and corporate responsibility
are fundamental to building the trust of consumers and society in general.
Consumers also play a crucial role in making informed choices and supporting
companies that show a genuine commitment to environmental sustainability.
Education and awareness-raising are key to fostering a change in consumer
habits and promoting a culture of environmental responsibility.