In a bid to combat their environmental impact, Coca-Cola and eight major bottling partners have collaborated to create a pioneering sustainability-focused venture capital fund. With an impressive $137.7 million investment, the fund’s primary targets will be packaging and decarbonization initiatives. Taking the lead in managing this groundbreaking endeavor is Greycroft, a renowned seed-to-growth venture capital firm. For Greycroft, this marks their first venture into such a specialized fund, encompassing investments across various industries and life cycles, including both enterprise and consumer solutions.

The primary focus of the fund will be to address Coca-Cola’s carbon footprint, honing in on five key areas with significant potential impact – packaging, heating and cooling, facility decarbonization, distribution, and supply chain optimization.

John Murphy, Coca-Cola’s President and CFO, is optimistic about the fund’s prospects, “This fund offers an opportunity to pioneer innovative solutions and help scale them quickly within the Coca-Cola system and across the industry,” “We expect to benefit from getting access to emerging technology and science for sustainability and carbon reduction.” Additionally, the fund aims to support companies during their commercialization phase, offering them an opportunity to scale their innovations alongside some of the world’s top bottling operations.

The fund will seek to invest in companies at the point of commercialization. For Greycroft, partnering with the Coca-Cola system presents an attractive opportunity to help scale innovations alongside some of the top bottling operations in the world.

“The market for sustainable supply chain and manufacturing technology has continued to grow as consumer brands rise to meet the demands of environmentally conscious customers,” says Dana Settle, co-founder and managing partner at Greycroft.

“Greycroft has an ‘invest anywhere’ approach that allows us to identify promising startups with climate tech solutions ready to scale.”

Coca-Cola has already made substantial investments in sustainability-focused projects worldwide. These initiatives include partnerships in Latin America, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Europe, with a focus on recycling and circularity. By 2025, the beverage giant aims to make 100% of its packaging globally recyclable and achieve a minimum of 50% recycled material in their packaging by 2030. The venture capital fund marks a significant step in Coca-Cola’s commitment to sustainability, showcasing their determination to be a positive force in addressing global environmental challenges.