The sustainability path we have traveled with Coca-Cola FEMSA

Plastilene, outstanding supplier 2021

As part of the Sustainable Sourcing Assessment Program, since 2019 in Colombia, our customer Coca-Cola FEMSA annually measures all its suppliers (of services and products) taking into account environmental, social, ethical and community components.

“Initially, the supplier must perform a self-assessment based on the parameters established in the Guiding Principles for Suppliers, to show which items require management improvement. If any critical issue is found, the supplier is a candidate for a physical audit, with the objective of reviewing facilities and activities, as well as conducting interviews with its personnel”. Coca-Cola FEMSA

The evaluation process concludes with a qualification by Ikus, the agency in charge of accompanying the evaluated organizations, and with the definition of the re-evaluation period as a second opportunity to continue being a Coca-Cola FEMSA supplier.

This year, Plastilene obtained an outstanding score of 93/100. We placed in the top 10 of outstanding suppliers along with companies such as Empacor, Flexo Spring, among others.

First time Coca-Cola gave us this evaluation. 

“The first time we did this evaluation we answered YES/NO questions and attached only some supports, for that reason the score was low” Luisa Ribero, corporate head of Sustainability.

When Ikus contacted Plastilene for the first time, on June 18, 2019, we were consolidating the sustainable innovation strategy, which involves the entire Group and seeks to articulate all the initiatives that today we call sustainable but, more than 60 years ago, we only called the “must be” of our organization.

Considering this and the lack of knowledge of the evaluation process, several items were left pending for support. Eventually the rating was low and we received training by Ikus and the opportunity to collect the pending supports.

“With the purpose of strengthening our suppliers’ business capabilities, we give them access to training and growth initiatives on topics such as finance, marketing, and human resources, among others. We also support their growth and business skills, we improve their businesses,” Coca-Cola FEMSA. 

The following year, on December 29, 2020, we increased our score considerably. However, it was not until 2021 that we became part of the 2 suppliers with the highest score 93/100.

Now, parallel to the evaluation, we heard for the first time about the award for sustainability and innovation in the supply chain. Reviewing the 2 categories, Innovation and Sustainability, we applied and won!

We won first place in the sustainability category and third place in the innovation category.

Thanks to our new Reciclene´s post-consumer plant and the development of a heat-shrinkable material with recovered material.

While in the innovation category we applied with a project for the use of recovered material in shrink-wrapping that reduces the consumption of virgin raw materials and reduces the carbon footprint, in the sustainability category we applied with the new Reciclene´s post-consumer plant.

In the latter, the new plant contributes to the challenge that arises in the collection of flexible plastics because they are very light and not very heavy.

The investment was more than 15 billion pesos. This plant offers an option to transform the material (turn it into pellets to return it to circular economy as a new packaging) and to continue working and strengthening waste pickers’ associations to improve collection.

Material acquires more value when it has a high level of use from the eco-design, consumers recognize that it is recyclable and give it to waste pickers, waste pickers can market it at a very good price with transformers such as Reciclene and they return it to the cycle.

Every year, 10 thousand tons of plastic will no longer reach ecosystems or landfills.

The mention as outstanding suppliers and the recognition of the role of our plant in the sustainability category in these awards strategically contribute to consolidate the projects that we have been advancing to collect material from their plants, take it to Reciclene, transform it and return it in a packaging.