Sugar Reduction Pledge Delivers 21% Drop in Sugar Content of Non-Alcoholic Beverages 

19 June 2026  

Australian Beverages Council Limited (ABCL) members have reduced sugar from total drinks sold by more than 20% since 2015, avoiding more than 255,552 tonnes of sugar consumption. The findings come from the final report into the Sugar Reduction Pledge. 

Launched in 2018, the Pledge saw member companies (Asahi Beverages, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Coca-Cola Australia and PepsiCo), representing approximately 81% of the Australian non-alcoholic beverages industry, commit to reducing sugar by 20% by 2025 against a 2015 baseline.  

Through a range of initiatives and voluntary actions, the pledgees achieved a total sugar reduction of 21%, rising to 23% when plain and sparkling water are excluded from the analysis. This came close to an ambitious stretch target of 25% announced in 2022, and pledgees remain committed to sugar reduction. The ABCL will continue to monitor and publicise industry progress through reporting such as the 28-Year Beverage Trends report. 

The Pledge result is an important milestone for the industry following extensive investment in significantly reducing sugar, with the ABCL now working with members to develop the next industry initiative to be announced in the coming months that will seek to further increase low- and no-sugar options and provide consumers with a broad range of beverage choices.  

Since the Pledge was launched, KPMG Australia has independently tracked progress using sales data and changes in the aggregated weighted average grams of sugar per 100ml of drinks sold.  

Geoff Parker, CEO of ABCL, said:  

“The success of the Sugar Reduction Pledge demonstrates what our industry can achieve through voluntary industry action and reflects our ongoing commitment to providing consumers with more choices. 

“This is a significant achievement for our industry, reflecting years of investment and innovation. We are incredibly proud of the progress made and remain committed to building on this success by continuing to expand the range and availability of low- or no-sugar drinks and managing cost-of-living pressures for Australian consumers. 

“Our members have invested in a range of initiatives, including reformulation and expanding low- and no-sugar product offerings, resulting in hundreds of thousands of tonnes of sugar eliminated from Australian diets. 

“We are making excellent progress with members on the next industry-wide initiative and look forward to announcing details in the coming months.” 

Sugar Reduction Pledge Final Report

 For media enquiries, please get in touch with Lauren Melia: lauren@ausbev.org