Introduction: A Fizz with a Conscience

Coca-Cola – For over a century, Coca-Cola has been a master storyteller, selling more than a beverage—it has sold happiness, community, and refreshment. Today, the story it needs to tell is one of responsibility. In an era defined by climate urgency and a global plastic waste crisis, even the world’s most iconic brand must evolve. The latest chapter in this evolution isn’t just about what’s in the bottle, but what holds it together.

The Plastic Predicament

The traditional plastic shrink-wrapped multipack is a staple of supermarket aisles. It’s cheap, effective, and durable. It’s also a poster child for single-use plastic waste—a fossil fuel-derived material that often escapes recycling streams to linger in landfills and oceans for centuries. As consumers, retailers, and governments amplify their demand for sustainable alternatives, the pressure on beverage giants like Coca-Cola has become undeniable.

A Handle on Change: Enter ‘Lift Up’

In response, Coca-Cola HBC—one of Coca-Cola’s largest global bottling partners—has introduced a quiet yet profound innovation: the Lift Up cardboard handle system. Currently in a pilot phase in Austria, this isn’t a mere packaging tweak; it’s a fundamental reimagining of the beverage carry-pack for the 21st century. By replacing non-recyclable plastic shrink wrap with a simple, fully recyclable cardboard handle, Coca-Cola is testing a model that could redefine sustainability benchmarks for the entire industry in 2025 and beyond.

Deconstructing the Lift Up: More Than Just a Box

At first glance, the Lift Up system seems elegantly simple. But its simplicity is the result of sophisticated design and partnership.

The Anatomy of an Innovation

From Plastic Film to Fibrous Grip – The core of the innovation is a cleverly engineered cardboard handle that punches through the tops of the bottles’ caps, securely bundling a multipack of 1.5-liter bottles. This eliminates the need for the plastic film entirely. The cardboard is FSC-certified (more on that later), sourced from responsibly managed forests, and is designed to be stiff enough for comfortable carrying yet easy to flatten for recycling. It’s a return to fiber, one of humanity’s oldest packaging materials, supercharged with modern engineering.

The Silent Partner: The Wraparound Label

Alongside the handle, Coca-Cola HBC has also introduced a recyclable wraparound label. This addresses another hidden source of waste: the plastic film labels often used for promotional messaging on multipacks. By ensuring this label is also compatible with paper recycling streams, the company is working to create a mono-material package—a gold standard in recycling where all components are made of the same material family, drastically simplifying the recycling process.

The Triad of Creation: DS Smith, Krones, and Coca-Cola HBC

This breakthrough didn’t happen in a vacuum. It is the product of a strategic partnership, highlighting how complex sustainability challenges require collaborative solutions.

DS Smith: The Circular Packaging Visionary

DS Smith, a leader in sustainable packaging, brought its expertise in fiber-based, circular design to the table. Their role was crucial in developing the cardboard handle’s structural integrity—ensuring it could withstand the weight and sloshing of heavy bottles from factory to fridge—while adhering to strict “design for recycling” principles.

Krones: The Engineering Maestro

Krones, a global specialist in beverage filling and packaging technology, tackled the high-speed machinery challenge. Retrofitting or adapting high-volume production lines to apply a cardboard handle instead of shrink wrap is a monumental engineering task. Krones’ involvement signals that the Lift Up system is designed for scalability, not just as a boutique concept.

A Symphony of Expertise

This triad represents a perfect synergy: Coca-Cola HBC defines the market need and sustainability goal, DS Smith creates the circular material solution, and Krones builds the practical bridge to mass production. It’s a blueprint for future industry innovation.

The “Why” Behind the Shift: A Mandate for Change

Why would a company undertake such a significant operational change? The motivations are a mix of environmental imperative, strategic goal-setting, and external pressure.

By the Numbers: The Tangible Impact

The 200-Metric-Ton Promise – Coca-Cola HBC states that removing shrink-wrap from this specific multipack line could eliminate approximately 200 metric tons of plastic annually. To visualize, that’s equivalent to the weight of about 40 adult elephants—a significant dent in virgin plastic consumption from a single packaging format change.

The Carbon Footprint Calculus

Beyond waste, the shift impacts carbon emissions. Producing cardboard from recycled or sustainably sourced pulp generally has a lower carbon footprint than producing virgin plastic from fossil fuels. While the full life-cycle analysis is complex, the move from a petroleum-based film to a bio-based, recyclable fiber is a clear step toward decarbonization.

Chasing Net-Zero: The 2040 North Star

As articulated by company representative Marcel Martin, this initiative is a direct stepping stone toward Coca-Cola HBC’s ambitious goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2040. Packaging is a major component of a beverage company’s Scope 3 (value chain) emissions. Innovations like Lift Up are critical levers to pull on the path to net-zero.

Pressure from All Sides: Regulation, Retail, and the Public Eye

The drive isn’t purely internal. The EU is relentlessly advancing directives like the Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD). Major retailers are setting their own stringent packaging sustainability requirements for shelf space. And perhaps most powerfully, a growing segment of consumers, especially younger generations, are making purchasing decisions based on a brand’s environmental ethos. The Lift Up system is a proactive response to this powerful trifecta of pressures.

Conclusion: A Lift for the Industry, A Step for the Planet

Coca-Cola’s Lift Up pilot is more than a new handle; it’s a signal. It demonstrates that large-scale, systemic change is possible when innovation aligns with environmental necessity and collaborative partnership. While the Austrian test will provide critical data on consumer acceptance and operational feasibility, its mere existence has already shifted the conversation.

It challenges every player in the beverage market to look at their own multipacks and ask: “Is this the best we can do?” As we move toward 2025, the success of Lift Up could very well lift an entire industry toward a standard where convenience no longer comes at the cost of the planet, proving that the future of refreshment must be, quite literally, sustainable to its core.

Coca-Cola

FYI: Your Quick-Reference Guide (FAQs)

Q1: What exactly is Coca-Cola’s new Lift Up packaging system?
It is an innovative, fully recyclable cardboard handle designed to replace traditional plastic shrink wrap for multipacks of 1.5-liter bottles. It is currently in the pilot testing phase.

Q2: Why is Coca-Cola HBC making this switch from shrink wrap?
The primary goals are to drastically reduce plastic waste and lower the carbon footprint of its packaging. The company estimates this change alone could eliminate around 200 metric tons of virgin plastic per year, supporting its broader commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040.

Q3: Where is this new system being tested first?
The pilot market is Austria. This allows Coca-Cola HBC to gather real-world data on consumer handling, production efficiency, and recycling integration before considering a wider European rollout.

Q4: Who were the key partners in developing Lift Up?
Coca-Cola HBC collaborated with two industry specialists: DS Smith, a leader in sustainable corrugated cardboard packaging, who engineered the handle itself, and Krones, a master of beverage production line technology, who helped adapt the high-speed machinery for application.

Q5: As a consumer, how does this affect me?
You will benefit from easier, clearer recycling (just cardboard and PET bottles) and the knowledge that your purchase uses less plastic. The cardboard handle is designed for a comfortable grip. Your participation in correctly recycling the cardboard is the essential final step in making this innovation a true environmental success.

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