* Coke CEO says no strategic shift to aluminium
* Bottled drink giants trialling easily recyclable cans
* FACTBOX on corporate shifts towards cans: * GRAPHIC-Drowning in plastic: https://tmsnrt.rs/2PDRvhd
By Alexis Akwagyiram
LAGOS, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Coca-Cola KO.N is committed to
collecting and recycling plastic bottles rather than switching
to aluminium cans as the world's largest soft drinks maker seeks
to reduce its carbon footprint, its chief executive officer told
Reuters.
Along with multinational rivals including PepsiCo PEP.O
and Nestle NESN.S , Coca-Cola has started offering recyclable
aluminium cans as well as plastic bottles for some water brands
as the industry reacts to public outrage over the world's oceans
being polluted with plastic waste.
But Coca-Cola's launch of a range of cans for sparkling
water in the United States is not part of a broader shift, said
CEO James Quincey during an interview in Nigeria's commercial
capital Lagos.
"We are not trying to engineer a strategic shift from
plastic to aluminium," said Quincey, adding that the firm was
"focused on collecting" and has a collection rate of about 59%.
Quincey said import tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on
aluminium that U.S. President Donald Trump set in 2018 to
preserve national security would also not alter its plan.
"It's not so big that it's going to make us change our
strategy," said Quincey on the impact of the tariffs.
"Given the relative weight of aluminium in our total
business, it hasn't caused a big change in strategy - just a
cost increase that fed through to the consumers," he said.
Last year Coca-Cola pledged to collect and recycle a bottle
or can for every one it sells globally by 2030.
The company adopts different methods around the world to
collect bottles. In some countries it uses a deposit return
scheme that enables consumers to return bottles in exchange for
incentives - such as cash, vouchers or a points-scheme. It also
works with private firms that employ collection agents to
retrieve used bottles.
"A recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottle has a
much lower carbon footprint than an aluminium can or a returned
glass bottle," said Quincey.
He said collecting and reusing bottles was a "better long
term answer" than switching to cans.
Last month environmental group Greenpeace said Coca-Cola was
the world's biggest producer of plastic waste for the second
year in a row.
Working with the Break Free From Plastic movement, it said
11,732 branded Coca-Cola plastics were recorded in 37 countries
- more than the next three top global polluters combined.
But Coke's CEO said this was just a reflection of the drinks
company being the "biggest brand".
Coca-Cola beat Wall Street estimates with quarterly revenue
of $9.51 billion last month, prompting the company to give an
upbeat forecast for 2019.
GRAPHIC-Drowning in plastic https://tmsnrt.rs/2PDRvhd
Carbon Footprint of Aluminium Can https://tmsnrt.rs/2ocNi6E
Carbon Footprint of PET Bottle https://tmsnrt.rs/2oWeLKt
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)