In the UK, a joint campaign by Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd (CCE) and supermarket giant Tesco has resulted in 37,000 customers making a pledge to recycle at home.
The 'Together We’re Making Recycling Count' online initiative provided entertaining and engaging information for Tesco customers, including general tips on recycling and a video from CCE.
Online visitors were invited to make a pledge to recycle in return for a 50p off voucher for Coca-Cola, Diet Coke or Coke Zero, or 25 additional Tesco Clubcard loyalty reward points.
According to Tesco, approximately 37,000 pledges were received in total and the campaign reached a wide audience, with over 7 million viewing recycle messages on the company’s website.
More than two-thirds of participants who previously never, or only occasionally, recycled said they are now ‘always’ or ‘mostly’ recycling as a result of the campaign.
Nick Canney, VP sales & marketing for Coca-Cola Enterprises, said: “The joint campaign with Tesco demonstrates our shared commitment to reduce our own carbon footprint and help consumers do the same.
“We are very pleased with the results, which show the power of pledging, both for building better awareness on the general importance of recycling and in helping consumers make changes for the better.”
There are, Canney added, “many challenges to address” in improving at-home recycling, but this initiative has highlighted the issue in a way that makes it “genuinely tangible for shoppers”.
Developed jointly between CCE and Tesco, and executed online from June 2013, the campaign website offered a range of recycling information including the ‘Happier Planet’ video, outlining CCE’s system for reprocessing plastic bottles and returning them to shop shelves in Great Britain as new products.
Six weeks after the launch, participants received a follow-up email to check on recycling progress and offer a chance to receive additional incentives.
To further understand the impact of the initiative phone interviews were carried out with a selection of customers who made a pledge as part of the campaign.
“These interviews highlighted an increased understanding of the wider environmental benefits of recycling as well as the positive reaction of consumers to pledging,” the company said.
