In 2022, Coca-Cola stumbled into a maelstrom of criticism after signing an agreement with Egypt’s government to sponsor the COP27 climate talks in Sharm el Sheikh.1 The company had earlier disclosed that it annually produced 3 billion tons of plastic packaging and had pledged to recycle a bottle for each one sold by 2030.2 A commitment made back in 1990 to recycle 25 percent of its bottles by 2015 had flopped spectacularly, but the beverage giant’s long-running partnerships with some big environmental NGOs, including the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the World Wildlife Fund, had always constituted an effective reputation management playbook.3 Indeed, this blend of disclosures, pledges, partnerships, and sponsorships ...
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