AMERICAN BEVERAGE 2023 ANNUAL REVIEW

The safety of our products is the highest priority for our industry. When we learned in 2022 that the World Health Organization (WHO) was set to review the safety of aspartame, a key ingredient to ongoing industry innovation that provides consumers with more choices with less sugar, we immediately activated a comprehensive strategy to ensure awareness of the decades of science affirming aspartame’s safety. We engaged with health and regulatory authorities in the U.S. and abroad to ensure that WHO followed an appropriate review process grounded in strong science. We invested in the science demonstrating the safety of aspartame and ensured key stakeholders were aware of its strength. We ramped up our communications efforts, launching a new website, engaging the right messengers, arming retail and customer partners, engaging media and health organizations alike, and activating on social media. All of our efforts were grounded in sound science and fact. And it took the entire industry around the globe working together in lockstep to achieve a successful outcome.

In the end, WHO’s food safety experts reached the conclusion we knew to be true: Aspartame is safe. And our efforts ensured this conclusion was emphasized in media coverage that raised unsupported claims that aspartame poses a health risk. With more than 40 years of science supporting it, that strong conclusion reinforces the position of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and food safety agencies from more than 90 countries. In fact, thanks to global coordination and sharing of information, 30 leading food safety authorities from five continents publicly reaffirmed the safety of aspartame. Consumers can move forward with confidence that aspartame is a safe choice.

Today’s beverage aisle provides consumers with more choices than ever before, many with less sugar or no sugar at all. Nearly 60% of beverages sold today have zero sugar. In fact, the increase in low- and zero-sugar beverages as part of overall beverage volume is a trend that has persisted since 2014 due in large part to industry innovation. With sparkling and flavored waters, zero sugar teas, sports drinks, mini-cans and more, consumers have myriad options among the more than 400 beverages with low or zero sugar now on the market.

That’s why we relaunched in early 2023 our “More Choices. Less Sugar” educational campaign. Why? To continue building awareness of the progress the industry is making to deliver more options that support consumer efforts to achieve balance. Through this effort, more than 1.4 billion impressions were garnered. We also were active with a social media campaign, showing how industry’s actions extend beyond the beverage aisle by sharing how the wide range of choices available today fit into everyday life—from restocking the fridge to getting ready for game day. While our efforts are having an impact, we know there is still more to do.

Creating a circular economy for our plastic bottles and aluminum cans is one of our industry’s highest priorities. We are carefully designing our bottles to be 100% recyclable. They are not single-use plastic and if collected can be remade into new bottles—which means we use less new plastic. Ensuring local recycling infrastructure is modern and effective is important to achieving that goal. That’s why we’re continuing our work on “Every Bottle Back,” an initiative with The Recycling Partnership and Closed Loop Partners to support recycling access, education and infrastructure projects in key regions of the USA. In 2023 alone, we committed more than $6.5 million in funding and launched 11 new projects—Nashville, Tenn.; LaSalle, Ill.; Avalon, N.J.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Kansas City, Mo.; Pittsburgh; Villa Park, Ill.; Branford, Conn.; Chicago; Danvers, Mass.; and West Tennessee. Through these projects we’ve placed more than 243,000 recycling carts in communities and impacted nearly 3.6 million people.

Four years into this groundbreaking effort, we’ve committed to expand recycling infrastructure and access in 50 communities with more than $27 million in total funding to date. This investment is expected to yield more than 808 million more pounds of recycled PET and more than 77 million more pounds of recycled aluminum. We’re making strong progress—and we will continue to take action at every stage of the life cycle of our plastic bottles to help them make their way back and be remade as intended and kept out of nature.

The men and women of America’s beverage companies are part of every community from coast to coast. They are your neighbors. They step up in times of disaster to make sure their neighbors—including first responders—have what they need. And they step up each and every day in myriad ways. Employees of Coca-Cola High Country donating toys to the local Boys & Girls Club in Rapid City, S.D., after they were stolen during the holiday season. Organizing a blood drive and raising awareness of sickle cell anemia at Keurig Dr Pepper headquarters in Texas. Volunteering at a local food bank and building food boxes by employees of Nackard Pepsi in Arizona. These are just a few of the many stories of how our industry is “Here For You.”

Mayors are on the frontlines of their communities—driving solutions and making positive change. That’s why ABA and the American Beverage Foundation for a Healthy America are proud of our partnerships with both the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) and the African American Mayors Association (AAMA) to advance grant programs that help make our communities healthier.

Together, through the “Childhood Obesity Prevention & Environmental Health and Sustainability Awards,” USCM and our Foundation have jointly awarded more than $5 million over the last 12 years to more than 60 cities across the country to support innovative programs that enhance the health, wellness and environmental quality of life for children and families. In 2023, first place grants for large, medium and small cities were awarded to: Charlotte, N.C., and Mayor Vi Alexander Lyles’ Deputy Diversion program; Lansing, Mich., and Mayor Andy Schor’s Grow Lansing mini-grants program; and Village of Oak Park, Ill., and Mayor Vicki Scaman for the Cross Community Climate Collaborative (C4) partnership between 15 communities and several nonprofits.

AAMA and the Foundation also were honored to announce this year the inaugural recipients of the “Nutrition Access, Affordability, and Education” grant program. This grant program helps support mayors as they address inequities that impact the people and places they represent. Four grants totaling $525,000 were awarded to: Houston, Texas, and Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Young Agri-business Leaders of Houston education program; Baton Rouge, La., and Mayor Sharon Weston Broome’s Geaux Get Healthy program; Newport News, Va., and its Sarfan Food Forest; and Greenville, Miss., and its FoodCorps program.

The Foundation also provides grants through a matching program with state beverage associations in support of community organizations working on the nutritional, physical and environmental health of their communities. This year, the Foundation awarded grants totaling $230,000 to 14 organizations in nine states.

With our roots in the U.S., our industry has truly gone global, with operations in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. Our International Council of Beverages Associations (ICBA) harnesses this growth to create a global network that coordinates to advance good policymaking and create a level playing field across markets to support the customers, consumers and communities we serve. From aspartame safety and front-of-package labeling to taxes, warnings on sweeteners and energy drink bans or restrictions, we came together this year to share the facts, educate regulators and make our voices heard.

We know that people feel taxed enough, especially in a year of high inflation. That’s why we continue to advocate for affordable groceries and protecting consumer choice by uniting against unfair taxes and regulations. Taxes on everyday grocery items—like teas, sports drinks and more—are simply bad policy. That’s why we advocated against a new beverage tax when discussions arose in Vermont. While a proposal never materialized in Vermont, we know that having conversations with lawmakers on better way solutions is critical—to consumers and small businesses.

We are committed to making sure that our objectives on reducing plastic use and keeping it out of nature align with the nation’s goals of environmental justice. That’s why we are opposed to bans on our industry’s plastic bottles, which are being carefully designed to be 100% recyclable. These bans are more symbolic than solution. In fact, our PET bottles are valuable because they can be remade into new products. They are not like other plastics that are single use. Even so, over the past year local governments have sought to ban plastic water bottles for sale or distribution within their jurisdiction. And in cities like Irvine, Calif., City Council members attempted to advance a ban on restaurants and food retailers from selling plastic water bottles. The measure received significant pushback from our industry, small businesses and environmental advocates. We know there are better ways to address plastic waste than banning a beverage that comes in a convenient, portable, recyclable container. That’s why we remain vigilant on this issue and will continue to educate lawmakers and stakeholders about why our bottles are different and why banning them is misguided.

Plastic pollution is a serious challenge, and we are committed to being part of the solution. Using less new plastic and keeping plastic out of nature is at the core of our environmental efforts. That’s why we are carefully designing our bottles to be 100% recyclable, including the caps. Our bottles are made from valuable and fully recyclable polyethylene terephthalate (PET). They are not single-use and can be remade again and again, reducing our use of new plastic. This year, we worked diligently to protect PET for our industry and others by safeguarding antimony, a key catalyst in making PET. When the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) sought to broaden its scope under the state’s Proposition 65, we engaged with the agency, aligned with partners and ultimately kept Prop 65 narrowly focused on the compound as previously listed. And through the International Council of Beverages Associations (ICBA) we are actively participating in the UN Plastics Pollution Treaty, advancing industry leadership solutions on sustainability and plastic pollution.

We continue to engage and advocate for our principles on effective collection systems to prevent the adoption of poor policy decisions. Why? Because we know what works—for consumers, the environment and business. That’s why we were highly engaged in Washington State, where a joint extended producer responsibility (EPR)/deposit return system (DRS) bill was considered this year. While it did not pass, the bill did carryover to the 2024 session and we remain highly engaged as discussions continue. In Colorado, the first state to pass a true EPR bill just last year which also was supported by ABA, real progress is underway. It became the first state to establish a producer responsibility organization (PRO), called the Circular Action Alliance (CAA). Importantly, CAA is comprised of leading companies from the food, beverage and consumer goods industries, including ABA members The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper, Niagara Bottling, LLC, and PepsiCo. The PRO must complete its needs assessment by January and present it along with three recycling scenario recommendations to the Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee in March. In Maryland, Gov. Wes Moore signed legislation that established an advisory council tasked with making recommendations regarding EPR and a PRO for packaging materials. The Maryland Department of the Environment selected CAA as the PRO administrator. We look forward to reviewing the council’s report, which will be made to the governor and General Assembly next December.

Deciding what to put in your grocery cart should be your own choice, including for those Americans receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Families who need financial help buying groceries make the same decisions we all do and deserve the same dignity of choice. Yet some lawmakers seek to restrict or ban what can be purchased with SNAP benefits—even though USDA has denied every submitted food restriction waiver to date. In 2023, four states—Florida, Iowa, New York and Texas—introduced a range of proposals attempting to single out sugar-sweetened beverages within the SNAP program. In Florida, a resolution to prohibit soft drinks sales within SNAP passed the House while companion legislation in the Senate sought a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) study of SNAP purchases. A House bill in Iowa requested a waiver from USDA to prohibit the purchase of “non sugar free soda” and candy from the SNAP program. And both Texas and New York introduced SNAP restriction waiver legislation. In all instances, ABA worked closely with bottlers and state beverage associations to oppose these proposals. We also ensured that USDA, key Members of Congress and the White House were aware of this state activity which is critical as deliberations on a new Farm Bill package continue. All proposals were defeated.

Advocating for sound science to be considered whenever public health entities and regulators around the globe are advancing beverage policies that impact real people is critical to us. Why? Because consumers should feel confident about the decisions they make about what to eat and drink so they can make the choice that’s right for them—especially when they are seeking ways to reduce their sugar consumption. That’s why we supported researchers at University of Liverpool who conducted a randomized clinical trial—the gold standard in nutrition research—on the benefits of low- and no-calorie sweeteners in helping people manage calories and sugar. Its findings? It showed these ingredients can help people not only decrease their sugar intake, but also their weight, waistline and blood sugar over a one-year period, reaffirming prior research shorter in duration. The strength of the evidence on the benefits of low- and no-calorie sweeteners were reiterated by academics at the annual American Society for Nutrition conference. We shared this important research at The Obesity Society’s annual meeting as well as other critical scientific meetings. We are also encouraging its consideration in the coming U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans because we know these sugar substitutes are key to the important public health goal of consuming less sugar overall.