Soft Drinks Europe

Established in 1958, UNESDA is a Brussels-based association representing corporates and national soft drinks associations. We're here to listen, learn & share.

[Soft Drinks Europe @UNESDA]

We have the perfect read for you to find out why #OurSectorMatters to Europe! All in just three key facts:

1.Our sector is a key driver of jobs and economic growth. Discover the stories of local #SoftDrinks companies across Europe.

2. Our sector innovates. In fact, we are the most innovative in the food and drink industry

3. Our sector takes ambitious actions that drive meaningful progress across Europe

🔎 Discover more in our NEW article in @euronews 👇
https://t.co/AAFVexEBUS

[Soft Drinks Europe @UNESDA]

💡 UNESDA #FridayTip

🎄 Too soon for festive magic? Not in the Netherlands! 🙂

This Sunday, Saint Nicholas (‘Sinterklaas’) will arrive in Amsterdam by boat, as he does every year. He will sail into the city before walking through the streets, accompanied by a grand procession.

👀 Want to experience it in person? Check out the programme
👉https://t.co/p5Qv3zuzuc

[Soft Drinks Europe @UNESDA]

📍The soft drinks you enjoy across Europe are made close to home, at more than 500 production sites across the continent. If you didn't know that, this is your sign to discover more about our sector and meet one of the many local companies supporting Europe’s economy and communities: La Limonaderie de Paris.

This French beverage company produces 2 million beverages every year and has earned recognition as an artisanal lemonade maker.

It operates, invests and innovates in France, creating value locally by supporting local jobs and the entire supply chain, from French farmers to the HoReCa sector.

⬇️ Swipe through to find out more.

Our sector is deeply rooted in Europe:

📍 500+ production sites
🗺️ over 97% of soft drinks made in Europe
👥 more than 1.8 million jobs supported across our supply chain
📈 €242 billion generated annually across our value chain
🍋 more than 85% of our ingredients sourced from European farmers

🔔 To continue supporting jobs and driving economic growth across Europe, we need policies that are simple, clear, coherent, grounded in robust science, and foster innovation.

🔎 Explore our sector’s socio-economic footprint across Europe 👉https://t.co/XFu15krxo3

#OurSectorMatters

[Soft Drinks Europe @UNESDA]

♻️ Closed-loop recycling that turns beverage containers into new ones?

♻️ Fair access to the food-grade recyclates generated from collected beverage containers?

The upcoming EU Circular Economy Act should deliver both to accelerate packaging circularity.

These enablers are critical for beverage manufacturers, as they finance the collection of beverage containers, are required to meet mandatory recycled content targets and must comply with strict EU food safety requirements. However, access to high-quality food-grade recycled materials is becoming increasingly challenging due to growing demand from sectors that do not face the same food-contact and recycled content requirements.

➡️ There is another key enabler that the Circular Economy Act should deliver: a level playing field between virgin and recycled materials. This should be achieved not through restrictions on recyclate imports or mandatory use of ‘EU made’ recyclates, but through targeted fiscal incentives for recycling and the use of recycled content that help address the price gap between virgin and recycled materials, as well as improved traceability through distinct tariff codes.

🔎 Read the latest article by our Director General, Nicholas Hodac ⤵️
https://t.co/fZ44sdu0a0

[Soft Drinks Europe @UNESDA]

🌎 Today and in the coming days, much of the world will turn its attention to #COP31 in Antalya (Turkey), as global leaders, industry representatives and civil society come together to negotiate how to advance collective climate action.

For our sector, climate action is part of our daily work. Across Europe, we are helping to build a more climate-neutral future by stepping up our efforts in many areas:

🌱 Reducing our carbon footprint through energy-efficient operations, the use of renewable and clean energy, and the decarbonisation of our logistics and distribution;

♻️ Making our packaging more sustainable through ongoing investments in fully recyclable packaging, support for effective collection systems, increased use of recycled content and innovating through packaging-free alternatives;

💧 Addressing water challenges, including by improving water efficiency, replenishing the water used in our beverages and returning clean water to nature and communities, as well as supporting nature-based solutions to build resilience to floods and droughts.

🔎 Find out more about our climate actions
👉https://t.co/ArCUu7Rhzu

[Soft Drinks Europe @UNESDA]

💡 UNESDA #FridayTip

We are not saying you should not book your next trip to explore castles, fortresses and palaces around the world, but you can discover more than 7,700 of them through this interactive map
👉https://t.co/qYvPtQlk4j

[Soft Drinks Europe @UNESDA]

📌 ‘With strategic, streamlined policies, we will keep building a strong, independent Europe. A Europe that delivers for its citizens and businesses.’

This is how @vonderleyen, President of the @EU_Commission, outlined the Commission’s vision for the year ahead in its 2027 work programme, published yesterday.

For our sector, it is particularly encouraging to see that the Commission:

🔹 reaffirms its commitment to simplification and reducing unnecessary regulatory barriers to make Europe more competitive;

🔹 commits to a ‘Pact against gold-plating’ to help prevent additional national rules introduced by Member States when transposing EU legislation, thereby creating unnecessary costs and administrative burdens for businesses.

Our sector supports these simplification efforts. They are a step in the right direction, but more action is now needed to create a regulatory environment that is simpler, more coherent, more predictable and that encourages long-term investment.

➡️ One practical simplification measure we have already proposed is a comprehensive review of the EU TRIS notification process to identify and remove additional barriers to the free movement of goods that result in unnecessary restrictions, Single Market fragmentation and additional costs.

💧 We also note the Commission’s intention to propose a new European Water Initiative aimed at better managing the EU’s water resources. As a sector, we have prioritised water resilience not only across our operations and supply chain but also within the local communities where we operate across Europe. We have taken action to improve water efficiency, strengthen the health of watersheds and ecosystems, and work closely with local partners to promote responsible water use and protect biodiversity through nature-based solutions.

One important lesson we have learned is that water challenges vary from one region to another.

💧 As the Commission develops its new initiative on water, it will be essential that the EU recognises that any policies on water should be tailored to local circumstances to reflect the specific local realities and needs.

As always, we look forward to continuing to engage constructively with policymakers to help deliver simple, practical and clear measures for Europe.

📷 ©European Union, 2026

[Soft Drinks Europe @UNESDA]

📣 Event alert!

♻️ Where do EU businesses stand on the implementation of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR)? What key compliance challenges remain, and which elements still require greater legal clarity and guidance?

UNESDA is supporting a policymakers’ breakfast on 1 December at the European Parliament in Brussels to take stock of these issues.

The discussion will explore proportionate solutions to the main implementation challenges currently facing industry that could help make the PPWR work for both the environment and Europe’s competitiveness.

📅 1 December
🕗 8:00-9:30 CET
📍 European Parliament, Brussels

🔗 Due to limited capacity, registration is subject to confirmation ⤵️
https://t.co/CKDb9wXulu

The event is organised in collaboration with the @Parlimag.

[Soft Drinks Europe @UNESDA]

♻️ What can support for high-quality, closed-loop recycling of beverage packaging in the upcoming EU Circular Economy Act enable in practice?

🔔 It enables beverage containers that consumers sort and return correctly to be collected and turned into new ones, keeping valuable materials in circulation.

But there is another key enabler needed to accelerate packaging circularity:

🔔 Ensuring beverage producers have fair access to the food-grade recyclates generated from collected beverage containers.

Why does it matter?

Beverage producers finance the collection of beverage containers, must meet mandatory recycled content targets and comply with strict EU food safety requirements. Yet, they face growing competition for food-grade recycled materials from sectors not bound by the same food-contact and recycled content obligations.

[Soft Drinks Europe @UNESDA]

🌱 For a lower-carbon, more resilient future!

📣 Our member Suntory Beverage & Food Europe (SBFE) has published its first long-term Climate Transition Plan.

This Plan outlines practical measures across operations and the wider value chain to improve energy efficiency, reduce packaging, and scale up regenerative agriculture schemes that aim to support soil health, biodiversity, and water resilience. It also includes actions to optimise transport and work with suppliers to reduce emissions.

🔎 Explore SBFE’s Climate Transition Plan ⬇️
https://t.co/NLgILMV6GS

#GrowingForGood

[Soft Drinks Europe @UNESDA]

💡 UNESDA #FridayTip

You don’t need to travel the world to experience some of its most iconic places.

You can now discover them through sound, thanks to Sonic Heritage, which captures the sounds of 270 UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Tune in 👉https://t.co/uB8b4hkkoE

[Soft Drinks Europe @UNESDA]

Providing consumer choice for every taste, occasion and lifestyle. Continuing to innovate. Supporting local jobs and driving economic growth.

These were the main topics discussed in Madrid this week, as the Spanish soft drinks sector came together at the Annual Event of our Spanish member association, Asociación de Bebidas Refrescantes (ANFABRA).

Key insights shared:

🔹In Spain, consumer preferences and tastes are evolving, and so is the way Spaniards enjoy soft drinks. 80% of Spaniards say that soft drinks are part of their moments of enjoyment and celebration;

🔹 The Spanish soft drinks sector’s contribution goes beyond producing soft drinks at 145 production sites across the country. It supports more than 220,000 jobs across its supply chain, generates €11.8bn in gross value added, and contributes 0.7% of Spain’s GDP.

🔹 The sector has a strong presence across Spain, driving prosperity and development in the country’s regions and rural areas.

👏 Shoutout to the ANFABRA team for hosting an excellent event that brought together key stakeholders and sparked important discussions on our sector’s socio-economic footprint and its transformation to continue to innovate and meet consumer needs and preferences.

❤️ We were delighted to attend the event and engage with the Spanish soft drink community. Thank you for having us!

[Soft Drinks Europe @UNESDA]

♻️🔄 This World Sustainability Day, we are focusing on practical solutions to this key sustainability question: what does Europe need most to accelerate packaging circularity, while helping businesses stay competitive?

Our Senior Public Affairs Manager, Delphine Close, shares our sector’s priorities for the upcoming EU Circular Economy Act:

➡️ Supporting greater availability of food-grade recycled material through closed-loop recycling, helping ensure that beverage bottles and cans can be recycled back into new beverage bottles and cans;

➡️ Helping create a more level playing field between virgin and recycled materials through incentives that encourage recycling and the use of recycled content;

➡️ Avoiding unnecessary barriers to imports of recycled materials that could restrict access, limit supply, and increase costs.

That’s how the EU Circular Economy Act can accelerate a competitive circular economy for Europe and support sectors like ours that are already delivering tangible results. For example, 60.3% of the PET used in our plastic bottles is now recycled PET, well above our sector’s target of 50% recycled content by 2025, and the EU's mandatory requirements.

🎥 Watch Delphine’s full message 👇

📝 And read this article for more insights
👉https://t.co/eU5qcp3OZy

[Soft Drinks Europe @UNESDA]

♻️ What does closed-loop recycling mean for beverage containers?

It is simple: a bottle becomes a bottle again, and a can becomes a can again. This is possible when consumers properly sort and return their beverage containers, enabling them to be collected, recycled, and turned into new beverage containers.

To close the loop, beverage producers also need to have fair access to the food-grade recyclates generated from collected beverage containers, as they:

🔹 finance the collection of beverage containers;

🔹are subject to legally binding recycled content targets and strict EU food safety requirements;

🔹face strong competition for food-grade recycled materials from sectors that are not required to meet the same food-contact and recycled content obligations.

🎥 Watch our short video explainer 👇

[Soft Drinks Europe @UNESDA]

📍 Wherever you find yourself in Europe, you can enjoy locally made soft drinks like the ones produced by Galvanina in Italy. That’s because the soft drinks sector is operating locally with 500+ plants across Europe producing more than 97% of our soft drinks.

As a beverage company operating near Rimini, Galvanina provides jobs for 136 people and generates an annual value of over €99 million (2025 figures).

To continue delivering value for local communities, supporting jobs and driving innovation, companies like Galvanina need clear, coherent and evidence-based policies that encourage investment and competitiveness across the food value chain.

🔎 Swipe to find out more about the role Galvanina plays in the local economy and community. ⬇️

👀 And explore our sector’s socio-economic footprint across Europe 👉https://t.co/XFu15krxo3

#OurSectorMatters

[Soft Drinks Europe @UNESDA]

💡 UNESDA #FridayTip

A new month is just around the corner and what does that mean in Brussels?

🎨 Free museum visits on the first Sunday of every month! 😉

Want to know more?
👉https://t.co/WgbSdfeDmK