Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP), Burlington, Mass., and Plano, Texas, published its 2019 Corporate Responsibility Report, highlighting a year in which the company made advancements on its goals to reduce packaging waste, improve energy and water efficiency and secure responsibly sourced coffee and brewers.
Signaling its continued commitment to a reduced carbon footprint, KDP added new emissions reduction targets to its Drink Well. Do Good. corporate responsibility platform, it says.
"The momentum against our Drink Well. Do Good. efforts in 2019, our first calendar year operating as one Keurig Dr Pepper team, reflects the central role corporate responsibility has at our Company," said Monique Oxender, chief sustainability officer at KDP, in a statement. "We made progress against all our areas of focus, including reducing packaging waste and increasing circularity of our products, with 87 percent of packaging now recyclable and 20 percent made with post-consumer recycled (PCR) content. Importantly, as committed to in our last report, our new emissions targets approved by the Science Based Target initiative provide a clear path to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions."
The following are highlights from KDP's 2019 corporate responsibility report:
Increased circularity for packaging: The company is on track to achieve its goals of 100 percent recyclable or compostable packaging and 30 percent PCR content by 2025. Currently, 95 percent of the company's K-Cup pods are now recyclable, and all will be transitioned by the end of 2020. In support of solutions that drive a circular economy, KDP launched the $100 million Every Bottle Back initiative with the American Beverage Association and industry peers to improve recycling infrastructure and support consumer education. Similarly, the company is a founding sponsor and the largest funder of The Recycling Partnership's Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, a parallel effort to further increase and improve the recyclability of polypropylene, the primary material of recyclable K-Cup pods and Mott's applesauce cups.
Accelerated climate action: KDP's new climate goals set in motion plans to reduce the company's greenhouse gas emissions while building climate resiliency throughout the value chain. The goals are approved by the Science Based Target initiative and align with the reductions required to meet the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius.
Supplier engagement on sustainable production: The majority of the company's coffee is responsibly sourced and KDP remains on track to meet its goal of engaging one million people in its supply chain to significantly improve their lives by the end of 2020 — already reaching 783,000 people since 2014. A large portion of this work is dedicated to helping farmers and suppliers address the challenges created by climate change through efforts to increase crop and business resiliency.
Community impact goal exceeded: In 2019, the company exceeded its goal of providing 13.5 million children and their families with play opportunities through its Let's Play initiative, supporting 14.2 million kids since 2011.
Keurig Dr Pepper developed its 2019 Corporate Responsibility Report in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines, the most widely recognized sustainability reporting standard. The report also serves as an annual communication on progress toward the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) principles, in line with the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.
