The Coca-Cola Foundation - Corporate Philanthropy for Recycling and Sustainability

Enriched Corporate · Found: 2026-03-11 10:59

Coca-Cola Foundation has awarded over $1.7 billion in grants over four decades. Supports recycling value chains, plastic waste reduction, and community sustainability. Key programs include Plastic Smart Cities ($3M grant for Mexico, South Africa, Thailand), PET Pilot Pakistan (USD 500K), Sri Lanka plastic waste management ($1.1M). Does not accept unsolicited proposals.

Source: https://coca-colacompany.com/about-us/the-coca-cola-foundation

Funding Details

Funder

The Coca-Cola Foundation

Funding Goal

Invest in transformative community initiatives globally, with a primary focus on sustainable water access, plastic waste reduction and recycling value chains, informal waste worker livelihoods, and community development in communities where Coca-Cola operates

Funding Amount

Over USD 1.7 billion distributed since founding; over 200 grants awarded annually; individual grant sizes vary widely - country sub-grants via UNDP partnership range from USD 10,000-30,000; major programme grants reach USD 10-15 million

Deadline

Rolling - invitation only, no open calls (Rolling)

How to Apply

No open application process. The Foundation does not accept unsolicited grant proposals. Engagement pathways: (1) apply to UNDP-TCCF sub-grant programmes in Asia (India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Philippines) via country-level calls; (2) apply to OceanHub Africa TCCF plastic waste challenge in sub-Saharan Africa; (3) participate in Coca-Cola system sustainability initiatives at country level. Monitor UNDP country offices for sub-grant calls.

Target Region

Global - 200+ countries where Coca-Cola operates, with plastic waste focus in Asia (India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia) and Africa (Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, island nations)

Contact

No direct grant applications accepted; coca-cola.smartsimple.com (Community Partner Portal for existing grantees); cocacolafoundation@coca-cola.com

Last Checked

2026-03-15 13:28

Application Checklist

Eligibility

• Access via UNDP-TCCF sub-grant programmes in India, Vietnam, and other Asian countries
• OceanHub Africa TCCF challenge open annually for sub-Saharan Africa (2026 round closed Feb 2026)
• UNDP sub-grants prioritise women/youth groups, NGOs, CBOs, and SMEs

Required Documents

• Monitor UNDP country offices in India, Vietnam, Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania for sub-grant calls

Constraints

• Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals - invitation only
• Direct Foundation grants are relationship-based; requires existing network connection

Summary

The Coca-Cola Foundation is the philanthropic arm of The Coca-Cola Company, established over 40 years ago and having distributed more than USD 1.7 billion in grants globally. The Foundation focuses its giving on three primary areas: sustainable water access and watershed conservation in vulnerable communities, plastic waste reduction and recycling value chains, and community development including disaster preparedness and economic empowerment programmes. In the domain of waste management, the Foundation has committed major resources to reducing plastic waste leakage into the environment. A USD 15 million grant to UNDP supports plastic waste management programmes across nine Asian countries including India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bhutan, and Nepal. This programme sub-grants up to USD 30,000 to local innovators and implementers, with priority given to women and youth groups, NGOs, community-based organisations, and SMEs. A separate USD 10 million grant to IUCN funds the IslandPlas project targeting plastic packaging waste reduction across seven African island nations. The Foundation also co-funds the OceanHub Africa plastic waste innovation challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, offering USD 120,000 across multiple awardees for innovations in plastic waste reduction - though the 2026 round closed in February 2026. Critically, the Foundation does not accept unsolicited grant proposals. All grants are awarded through a selective, invitation-based process, typically channelled through large institutional intermediaries such as UNDP, IUCN, or OceanHub Africa. Organisations seeking access to Foundation funding must engage through these intermediary sub-grant programmes, which do operate open competitive calls at the country level. The Foundation uses three mechanisms: philanthropic grants, impact investments, and leveraging Coca-Cola system expertise and supply chain relationships. Geographic coverage spans over 200 countries where The Coca-Cola Company operates, with particular intensity in Asia and Africa for plastic waste programming.

Historical Context

The Coca-Cola Foundation has funded water programmes for decades. The plastic waste focus accelerated after 2018 when Coca-Cola made a World Without Waste pledge to collect and recycle 100% of its packaging by 2030. The UNDP-TCCF Asia partnership was announced around 2023-2024. The OceanHub Africa challenge ran its first sub-Saharan round in 2025-2026. The Foundation awards over 200 grants annually across all focus areas.

Why it was added

Corporate plastic waste initiative/Alliance to End Plastic Waste

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