(Reuters) – Sustainability-focused hedge fund Engine No. 1 has taken a small stake in Coca-Cola Co and is pushing the soda giant to ramp up its efforts to recycle more of its cans and bottles, newly launched global news platform Semafor reported on Tuesday.
The activist investor, which won an against-the-odds board challenge against Exxon Mobil Corp last year, is calling for Coca-Cola to invest in or partner with a waste-management company to develop additional recycling capacity, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Coca-Cola aims to have 100% of its packaging recyclable globally by 2025 and use at least 50% recycled material in its packaging by 2030, according to its sustainability goals.
The investor has suggested a partnership between Coca-Cola and garbage collection and recycling company Republic Services Inc, in which Engine No. 1 holds a stake, the report said, adding that Coke executives have reached out to Republic.
Coca-Cola, Engine No. 1 and Republic did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
