In June 2018, the Australian Beverages Council announced a pledge that saw the non-alcoholic beverage industry commit to a 20 per cent reduction in sugar across the industry’s portfolio by 2025.

The Sugar Reduction Pledge consists of two tiers – Signatories and Supporters

Signatories

Australia’s leading beverage companies, including Asahi Lifestyle Beverages, Coca-Cola ASEAN & South Pacific, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and PepsiCo, committed, as Signatory Members to the pledge, to reduce sugar across their drinks portfolios by 20 per cent by 2025.

Signatory Members exceeded the original target, achieving a 21 per cent reduction in sugar by the end of 2025. When plain water and unsweetened flavoured waters are excluded from the analysis, the reduction reaches 23 per cent. Over the life of the Pledge, participating companies avoided more than 255,552 tonnes of sugar consumption through reformulation, innovation and the expansion of low- and no-sugar beverage options.

All products represented by Signatory Members are included in the commitment, with progress measured across the combined portfolios of participating companies.

Total sugar is quantified using aggregated sales-weighted volume data across all ABCL Signatory Members. Progress is independently assessed against a baseline of 1 January 2015.