Sustainability Target Row-Backs: What Communicators Can Learn from Coca-Cola and Unilever

As high-profile organisations publicly row back on their sustainability commitments, and with 2025 bringing more sustainability reporting requirements, our ESG and Sustainability Lead Katy Barney explores what this means for communicators.??

November and December have been packed with global conferences with COP in their title; not only COP29 in Azerbaijan but also COP16 on biodiversity in Colombia and one focused on desertification in Riyadh.

Another UN gathering took place in Busan, South Korea, to establish a UN Treaty to end plastic pollution. These plastic-focused talks, intended to create a legally binding instrument akin to those in place for climate and nature goals, ended in failure.

The same week, Coca-Cola, a member of the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty, dropped several pledges relating to reusable packaging and the reduction of virgin plastic.?

The headlines are as you’d expect for a brand of Coca-Cola’s scale and reputation, and campaigners and outlets have been quick to point out the timing. But as more businesses approach their 2030 targets and grapple with the change needed to meet them, can we expect to see more public row-backs? How should these be communicated? And should we be looking at a completely new approach to communicating corporate sustainability targets?

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The Coca-Cola case

First, let’s look at the row-backs themselves and what Coca-Cola could have done differently. They have dropped a 2022 goal of achieving 25% reusable packaging by 2030, replacing this with a 2035 objective to increase recycled plastic use to 30% to 35% globally. An objective to reduce the use of virgin plastics from non-renewable (i.e. fossil-fuel-based) sources was also absent from their recent update. Several web pages outlining previous targets have been removed from their websites.

Coca-Cola is undoubtedly one of the biggest beasts when it comes to brand visibility and global recognition. As the largest source of plastic pollution worldwide, it is right that their performance is subject to high levels of scrutiny.?

Campaigners and commentators have observed that their new voluntary goals fall far short of their original targets, and call this a “masterclass of greenwashing”. It has been pointed out that they originally pledged to recycle 25% of bottles by 2015 in 1990. The announcement comes as Unilever, otherwise a leading voice on ESG, has also dialled back commitments on plastics and supply chain diversity.

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Why we can expect to see more sustainability target row-backs

As 2030 approaches, we can expect to see more of this. Many businesses will be looking at their net-zero targets and finding that reductions become more challenging the more progress you make; especially businesses where Scope 3 represents a significant proportion of emissions.

The drive to set targets was strong five or so years ago and as the deadlines approach, many sustainability and communications teams are now facing a combination of greater public and stakeholder scrutiny, greater understanding of the challenges and roadblocks, and greater regulatory pressure.

So where does this leave target setting? Will a series of high-profile backtracks undermine confidence in corporate sustainability progress? And how should communicators prepare?

ESG targets serve an important purpose: driving accountability to deliver. However, they can lack nuance when communicated externally, reducing complex strategies and multi-stakeholder initiatives to a set of numbers which will almost always look bad. PR teams need to be involved in deciding whether a target should be public, and planning what the narrative will be if those targets are not met.

Since rowing back on their targets, Unilever has stated they will no longer set targets unless they know they will meet them. While this makes sense, we need leading businesses to set ambitious, ‘stretch’ targets, which in turn motivate competitors and drive change throughout supply chains. We also need transparency; if targets are not public, scrutiny will inevitably be harder.

Over the next few years, the complex map of sustainability reporting and regulation is likely to drive many larger companies to focus primarily on regulatory compliance. While necessary to drive change, it remains to be seen where this will leave the communication of sustainability progress, especially if businesses fear backlash from putting their heads above the parapet. In this context, communication expertise must be empowered, not sidelined, to ensure that risks are effectively balanced against opportunities.

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Lessons to learn

Coca-Cola and Unilever are inevitably extreme examples; most businesses need not expect the same level of attention on their sustainability targets. Nevertheless, there are certainly communications lessons to be learned, whether organisations are examining existing targets or considering setting them for the first time.

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1. Get comfortable with discomfort

There is a natural inclination to focus only on the positive and seek to downplay challenges or trade-offs. But as the scale of the challenges of achieving decarbonisation, circular economy and social equity are more deeply understood, PR professionals will need to hold firm and support leaders to get comfortable being more nuanced about progress towards goals.

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2. Plan in advance

Setting multi-year targets at least means that the likelihood of achieving them is known in advance. Communications teams must be included in planning far in advance of the deadline, and able to develop the narratives which explain any changes or shortfalls.

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3. Timing matters

Relatedly, was it the wisest idea to communicate a failure to reduce plastic pollution in the same week as global talks to reduce plastic pollution take place? Surely this is PR 101…

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4.???? Keep making the case

As we’ve seen, the next few years could be challenging. However, the imperatives behind corporate sustainability action, and effectively communicating it, have not gone anywhere. We need to move with the times and continue to advocate for faster progress.

The stakes for ESG commitments are higher than ever, and the need for credible, effective communication has never been more urgent. Organisations must empower their comms teams to lead from the front, ensuring that even setbacks become opportunities to demonstrate resilience, responsibility, and a commitment to meaningful progress.