Santo Domingo.- With a firm commitment to contributing to the well-being of people and the planet, the Coca-Cola System, comprised of The Coca-Cola Company and its bottling partner Bepensa Dominicana, through its initiative A World Without Waste, has managed to promote circular economy and environmental sustainability models, fostering a recycling culture to build a better future.
This commitment, which seeks to collect the equivalent of 100% of the packaging placed on the market by 2030, has been recognized by the National Council of Private Enterprise (CONEP) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in their 2023 Catalog of Promising Practices.
“For us, being included in this edition of Promising Practices is a testament to the tremendous efforts we have made, working with our partners, to contribute to the environmental and social sustainability of the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean region. This fills us with satisfaction and inspires us to achieve our ambitious goal of 2030,” said Marlen Gómez, Senior Manager of Public Affairs, Communications, and Sustainability for Coca-Cola Caribbean.
For his part, the director of Public Affairs of Bepensa Dominicana, Juan Amell, considered that “A World Without Waste and the initiatives of other recognized entities serve as inspiration and raise awareness among citizens to promote actions that allow for a prosperous and comprehensive future for all Dominicans."
This concept is also aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Specifically, it addresses goals 12, 13, 14, 15, and 17 on responsible consumption, proactive environmental impact mitigation, conservation of underwater life and terrestrial ecosystems, and partnerships to achieve the goals.
In this last aspect, the Coca-Cola System model has established alliances with important actors that have allowed them to achieve satisfactory collection results, such as Recolectiva, the recycling group Scrapmen, and Pure Eco. They are also part of the New Life for Waste initiative (NUVI) led by AIRD, and R points of the Ramos Group, establishing collection points throughout the country, as a way to educate and raise awareness in society.
The Coca-Cola System has taken the initiative to sign a sustainable tourism agreement with the National Association of Hotels and Tourism of the Dominican Republic (Asonahores), the Santo Domingo Hotel Association (AHSD), and other partners to recover PET plastic in Santo Domingo hotels and raise awareness among guests and staff about responsible waste management.
Likewise, the social, economic and environmental impact of A World Without Waste In the country, it has been significant in terms of creating direct and indirect jobs, promoting recycling in schools, beach clean-up campaigns, and other similar initiatives.
This initiative is an example of how the productive sector can build alliances to achieve greater social benefit through the collection and processing of solid waste, moving the country toward a culture of recycling and a circular economy.
