News

Coca-Cola is dramatically scaling back its plastic promises

In 2018, Coca-Cola announced that by 2030 it wanted to recycle the plastic equivalent of every bottle it put out into the world.

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2 years ago

December 5, 2024

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Coca-Cola changed its “voluntary environmental goals” this week. Florian Gaertner/Photothek/Getty Images

Coca-Cola is scaling back its packaging sustainability goals, igniting outrage from environmental activists.

CNN reported that the beverage company, which has long been criticized for being one of the world’s top producer of plastic pollutants, changed its “voluntary environmental goals” this week.

It now aims to use 35% to 40% recycled material in its packaging by 2035 — a drastic reduction from its previous goal of 50% by 2030.

Coca-Cola explained in a press release that its “evolution is informed by learnings gathered through decades of work in sustainability, periodic assessment of progress and identified challenges.” Coke is also changing its recycling goal.

In 2018, Coca-Cola announced that by 2030 it wanted to recycle the plastic equivalent of every bottle it put out into the world.

That’s been reduced to “ensure the collection” of 70% to 75% bottles and cans entering the market every year without naming an specific timeline.

Pollution from single-use plastic remains a major problem.

A recent report from the Minderoo Foundation found that companies are producing record amounts of plastic despite stated efforts to be more sustainable. Plastic is problematic because it’s mostly made from polymers created from dangerous fossil fuels.

“We remain committed to building long-term business resilience and earning our social license to operate through our evolved voluntary environmental goals,” Bea Perez, executive vice president for sustainability and strategic partnerships for the Coca‑Cola Company, said in a press release.

“These challenges are complex and require us to drive more effective and efficient resource allocation and work collaboratively with partners to deliver lasting positive impact.”

In response, environmental group Oceana bashed Coca-Cola for its “short-sighted, irresponsible” changes that are “worthy of widespread condemnation by its customers, its employees, its investors, and governments worried about the impact of plastics on our oceans and health.”

The company’s new and weak recycling-related pledges won’t make a dent in its overall plastic use,” Matt Littlejohn, Oceana’s senior vice president of strategic initiatives, said in a statement.

“Coca-Cola’s investors and governments around the world should take notice and take steps to hold the company accountable.”

Earlier this year, Coca-Cola rolled out new bottles for all versions of Coke sodas (i.e. zero sugar, diet, original, etc.) that are made from 100% recycled plastic.

The company estimated that the new bottles will reduce 83 million pounds of plastic used in its US supply chain, the equivalent of two billion bottles.

News

Police confirm Kogi APC Chairman’s Murder by Bandits

Yunusa’s vehicle was reportedly intercepted by the suspected bandits during a kidnapping operation along the Itobe–Ochadamu Expressway, around Ojuwo Olijo in Ofu Local Government Area of the state, on Thursday, August 27, 2026.

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1 day ago

August 28, 2026

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•Ishaq Yunusa

Kogi State Police Command on Friday confirmed the murder of the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State, Ishaq Yunusa.

Yunusa was killed in an attack by suspected bandits.

His death has thrown family members, friends and APC supporters into mourning, with calls for the immediate arrest and prosecution of those responsible.

The Public Relations Officer, ASP Saliu Oyiza Afusat, confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Friday.

She said the attack occurred at about 5 p.m. on Thursday when armed assailants emerged from the surrounding bush and opened sporadic fire on motorists.

According to the police, security agencies are intensifying operations in the area, while personnel are combing the surrounding forests in a bid to rescue any abducted victims and track down those responsible for the attack.

The command says efforts are ongoing to restore security along the affected route.

News

President Tinubu Orders Comprehensive Forensic Audits of MDAs, IPPIS

The exercise will establish the nature and extent of weaknesses in Government’s control system, and determine how such weaknesses have been exploited.

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1 day ago

August 28, 2026

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, to oversee and coordinate a comprehensive forensic audit of Federal Government systems.

The audit will include a review of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), Federal Government agencies, and their administration and internal controls.

Bayo Onanuga,Special Adviser to the President(Information & Strategy), in a press release on Friday, said that President Tinubu’s directive follows the Federal Executive Council’s resolution on August 19, 2026, in response to findings by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on “fake agencies”, ghost workers, and other control failures.

The exercise will establish the nature and extent of weaknesses in Government’s control system, and determine how such weaknesses have been exploited.

The review will comprise two interconnected components. The first will focus on a forensic audit of Government systems, particularly IPPIS and related payroll, personnel, pension and financial-management platforms.

It will examine reported cases of ghost workers and payroll fraud, reconcile the figures identified by the ICPC, trace how fictitious or ineligible persons were enrolled, and review access, identity, biometric and bank-account controls.

The exercise will also examine the interfaces between IPPIS and other government platforms, including GIFMIS, Remita, the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and Sub-TSA, to determine whether fraud resulted from system defects, process failures, inadequate segregation of duties or deliberate circumvention.

The second component of the audit will cover all Federal Government agencies, departments, commissions, councils, parastatals and other government bodies.

It will establish a definitive inventory of such bodies and verify their legal basis, while examining how entities obtain official recognition, budgetary consideration, correspondence privileges, office facilities and access to government systems.

The exercise will assess governance, procurement, internal-audit, and oversight controls across Government to close systemic weaknesses that could allow irregular entities or persons to access public resources.

President Tinubu directed that the exercise be conducted with the highest standards of independence, professionalism and forensic integrity.

The audit team will have access to relevant government systems and records. It will collaborate with the ICPC to ensure that the review complements all ongoing investigations, prosecutions and recoveries.

President Tinubu expects the exercise to go beyond identifying individual cases of fraud or administrative failure by strengthening the architecture of Government, closing systemic loopholes, improving data verification and reconciliation, reinforcing accountability, and ensuring that only duly constituted entities and eligible personnel have access to Government resources.

The exercise underscores the President’s commitment to strengthening transparency, accountability, fiscal governance and institutional integrity across the Federal Government.