📣 Meet our new President! 📣 We are pleased to announce that Andrew McMillin, President Western Europe Operations at The Coca-Cola Company, is the new President of UNESDA. 🙌 A warm welcome from the UNESDA community to Andrew! We look forward to his leadership as our sector continues to drive #innovation and foster sustainable #growth and prosperity for Europe. Here's what Andrew stated upon assuming the role: ''I am honoured to lead UNESDA and represent some of the world’s most loved brands which provide European consumers with great-tasting drinks for all occasions and choices. The soft drinks sector plays an important role in supporting the European economy by providing over 1.8 million direct and indirect jobs*, and creating 242 billion euros in value across its supply chain. A recent report established the soft drinks industry is leading innovation in the food and beverage industry. During my Presidency I will advocate for enabling EU policies that can further advance our sector’s innovation potential to foster growth, sustainability and resilience for our industry and the European economy.” 🔎 Read our press release for more details 👉 * Discover more about our sector's socio-economic footprint ➡️

#WorldRadioDay is here and you might be wondering: what does that mean for us? Well, it is a good opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to our no-marketing to children policy and to highlight the progress we have already made: ➡️ We do NOT market or advertise any #SoftDrinks to children under 13 years of age across any media, including radio, when at least 30% of its audience is composed of children. 🎯 According to the latest monitoring carried out by independent auditors, UNESDA corporate members continue to drive positive change through their high compliance rates: 📺 98.7% on TV 🖥️ 92.9% on company-owned websites 💙 94.1% on company-owned social media profiles 👍 100% on influencer profiles 🔎 #DoingOurPart

We are so close! Next week, we will get an inside look at the EU Vision for Agriculture and Food, which will be unveiled by the European Commission. As we await for the release of this Vision, we want to stress the need for supportive #agrifood policies that: 🔹 help businesses stay competitive by promoting fairness across the #food supply chain to ensure everyone plays their part and there is no discrimination against any specific food, #drink or ingredient 🔹 are evidence-based and non-discriminatory, supporting safe ingredients, such as no- and low calorie #sweeteners, and enabling food #innovation 🔹 consider up-to-date and comparable EU food and drink consumption data to better understand what Europeans actually consume and what interventions can be effective 🔹 recognise voluntary initiatives, such as those taken under the #EUCodeOfCondct on Responsible Food Business and Marketing Practices, as effective tools for encouraging the entire food and drink industry to drive broader positive change 🔎 Discover our socio-economic footprint 👉 🔎 Find out more in our Manifesto 👉 #OurSectorMatters

🔔 A new phase is starting. The EU #PPWR has officially entered into force today and its application will begin in 18 months (August 2026). What’s next? The focus is now on ensuring the smooth and qualitative development of the secondary legislation necessary for the proper implementation of the PPWR. It is crucial that the @EU_Commission develops the necessary acts and guidance that will enable the industry to prepare for compliance. 🔎 Discover more about our sector’s #circularity commitments 👉

2025 is not just another year! Our latest article in @Euractiv explores why this year is pivotal for Europe’s #PackagingCircularity journey and our sector, as we move towards meeting key #EU #packaging regulatory targets and our industry’s voluntary commitments. 🔎Read the article ⬇️

💡 UNESDA #FridayTip One month into Poland’s Presidency of the Council of the EU, there is still plenty you might not know about the country🇵🇱. It's time to discover! 👉

It is time to bid farewell to Peter Harding as President of UNESDA, as he steps down after completing his two-year mandate. It has been a true joy working under Peter’s leadership. We are deeply grateful for his inspiring tenure and unwavering commitment to UNESDA. 👏 👏 🔔 Don’t miss our farewell interview with Peter where he shares his thoughts on his mandate and the path forward for our sector 👉 Stay tuned for the announcement of our new President! 😉

Are you joining us at Go Circular Summit? Our Senior Public Affairs Manager, Delphine Close, will be contributing to a panel discussion on how the industry is adapting to evolving environmental regulatory requirements and what is needed to drive #sustainability forward. Don’t miss! 📌 Rotterdam🇳🇱 🗓️ 4 March 🕙 10:00-10:30 CET 🔎 Check out the agenda: 👉 Register here:

Only a short time left until the launch of the #EU Vision for Agriculture and Food! As a key player in the #food and #drink industry, our sector is pleased to co-create this Vision through @FoodDrinkEU, which has been appointed as a member of the European Board on Agriculture and Food (#EBAF). The EBAF is a consultative body set up by the European Commission and chaired by @CHansenEU, EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, that will provide high-level advice to the European Commission on the follow-up of the report of the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture and will contribute to the work on the Vision for Agriculture and Food. As the Vision takes shape, it is crucial to foster supportive #agrifood policies that: 🔹 help businesses stay competitive by promoting fairness across the #food supply chain to ensure everyone plays their part and there is no discrimination against any specific food, #drink or ingredient 🔹 are evidence-based and non-discriminatory, supporting safe ingredients, such as no- and low-calorie #sweeteners, and enabling food #innovation 🔹 consider up-to-date and comparable EU food and drink consumption data to better understand what Europeans actually consume and what interventions can be effective 🔹 recognise voluntary initiatives, such as those taken under the #EUCodeOfCondct on Responsible Food Business and Marketing Practices, as effective tools for encouraging the entire food and drink industry to drive broader positive change 🔎 Discover our socio-economic footprint 👉 🔎 Find out more in our Manifesto 👉 #OurSectorMatters

💡 UNESDA #FridayTip Make the most of the winter season in a creative way: visit museums! There is a whole world of art waiting to be explored in Brussels. 😉 Start planning your tour! 👉

🔔 Athens🇬🇷 calling! We are thrilled to announce that our Director General, Nicholas Hodac, will be speaking at the Sustainable Packaging Conference in Athens. Nicholas will share insights on the European #SoftDrinks sector’s journey towards #circularity of #BeveragePackaging and will highlight the key enablers the industry needs to achieve the #EU’s mandatory circularity targets and its own goals. This includes supporting well-designed and efficient collection schemes across Europe, such as #DepositReturnSystems (#DRS), to boost beverage container collection for #recycling. This discussion comes at a crucial time as Greece prepares to introduce its DRS by the end of the year. Looking forward to seeing this rollout! 📌 Athens 🗓️ 25 February 🕤 9:30-9:50 EET 🔎 Check out the agenda and register:

📢 Here is it: the much-anticipated #EU Competitiveness Compass was unveiled today by the @EU_Commission, providing key insights into the direction the EU will take to enhance its #competitiveness. ‘’We welcome the EU’s renewed focus on competitiveness and #simplification. It is paramount to address the growing cost of doing business in Europe. The highly complex regulatory framework under which companies operate is resulting in significant compliance costs. This is not about watering down the EU’s #decarbonisation targets; it’s all about making the legislative and implementation processes simpler and more efficient so that these targets are actually achievable for businesses, without unnecessary administrative burdens and costs’’, underlines our Director General, Nicholas Hodac. For our sector, it is particularly positive to see that: ✅ competitiveness is back at the heart of the EU’s strategy ✅ #innovation is also a key priority for fostering #growth and future-proofing EU businesses ✅ simplification of regulatory implementation is prioritised to create a more efficient and innovative environment for businesses Our sector plays a crucial role in boosting Europe’s competitiveness. We are a local industry making a significant contribution to the European economy and society: 🔹 Producing more than 97% of our drinks in Europe across more than 500 production facilities 🔹 Supporting over 1.8 million #jobs across our value chain 🔹 Sourcing more than 85% of our ingredients from European #farmers 🔎 For more information, read the: ➡️ Full Competitiveness Compass: ➡️ Factsheet on the Competitiveness Compass 🔎 Discover more about our socio-economic footprint 👉 #OurSectorMatters

Who else will be attending the @petcoreeurope Annual Conference next week? This is a great opportunity for the PET bottle industry to discuss the challenges and policy support needed to drive #circularity of PET beverage bottles. A top priority for the industry is to collaborate with policymakers to ensure the smooth and qualitative development of the secondary legislation necessary for the proper implementation of the #PPWR. 📌Brussels 🗓️ 4-5 February 🔎View the agenda You can still register ⤵️

Not long until the release of the #EU Vision for Agriculture and Food! We are eager to learn more about this Vision and look forward to working with the @EU_Commission and all relevant stakeholders to shape supportive #agrifood policies that: 🔹 help businesses stay competitive by promoting fairness across the #food supply chain to ensure everyone plays their part and there is no discrimination against any specific food, #drink or ingredient 🔹 are evidence-based and non-discriminatory, supporting safe ingredients, such as no- and low-calorie #sweeteners, and enabling food #innovation 🔹 consider up-to-date and comparable EU food and drink consumption data to better understand what Europeans actually consume and what interventions can be effective 🔹 recognise voluntary initiatives, such as those taken under the #EUCodeOfConduct on Responsible Food Business and Marketing Practices, as effective tools for encouraging the entire food and drink industry to drive broader positive change 🔎 Find out more in our Manifesto 👉 @CHansenEU #OurSectorMatters

💡 UNESDA #FridayTip In the mood for some garden care this winter? That’s wonderful! Your garden can provide a safe shelter for birds. Learn how with these expert tips ⤵️

With the new #EU legislative term in full swing, our sector remains a constructive stakeholder in shaping the future of EU #agrifood policies. Let’s not forget the crucial role our sector plays within the European #food and #drink industry. ✔️ We support over 1.8 million #jobs across our value chain. ✔️ We are a local industry with over 97% of our drinks produced in Europe and more than 85% of our ingredients sourced from European #farmers. Want to find out more about our sector’s contribution to the European economy and society? 👉 #OurSectorMatters

🎯 2025 is a target year for our sector in relation to our #BeveragePackaging. We are committed to boosting the collection of our beverage containers and increasing the use of recycled content in our plastic beverage bottles. We have been working hard to meet the EU’s mandatory targets for 2025 (a 77% collection rate for plastic beverage bottles and a 25% recycled content target for plastic beverage bottles) - and our own voluntary target for 2025 (we pledged that 50% of the PET used in our plastic bottles will be recycled PET). We have been laser-focused on: ♻️ making all our beverage containers fully recyclable. A majority of UNESDA corporate members have already achieved the objective of 100% #recyclability or are very close to reaching it. ♻️ increasing the use of recycled content in our plastic beverage bottles. In 2023, an average of 39.6% of the PET used in the manufacturing of our plastic bottles was recycled PET. ♻️ investing in well-designed and efficient collection and waste management systems across Europe, such as #DepositReturnSystems (#DRS), to improve the collection of our packaging for #recycling. While we are making every effort to achieve a #CircularEconomy for our packaging, a number of key factors do not depend on us. In particular, it is crucial that: ➡️ The European Commission develops the necessary implementation measures for the proper implementation of the EU #PPWR to enable the industry to prepare for compliance. ➡️ Europe’s governments support policies encouraging investment in efficient collection and waste management systems, and fostering a stable market for secondary recycled materials to ensure sufficient #RecyledPET is available at a reasonable price ➡️ Consumers are educated on the importance of correctly disposing of #BeveragePackaging and returning it to designated collection points, in the case of DRS. Active consumer engagement greatly contributes to effective collection for #recycling. 🔎 Find out more about our progress in this report on our #EUCodeOfConduct commitments 👉