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The enforcement of the provisions of the Directive EC 2019/904 -also known as the Single Use Plastic (acronym, SUP) Directive -results in the adoption of the implementation acts by all Member States, aiming to challenge the way that food products and beverages are packed. In this given context, European soft drinks industry, retailers, governments and consumers are currently working together in order to design implementation acts (EU and governments' decisions, laws, regulations, procedures, norms, etc.) that have to incorporate a balanced consideration to the business needs, from one side, and to the ones for a cleaner environment, from the other. A particular aspect of this fragile relationship is the way that the European beverage industry would address SUP Directive's specific requirement for a minimum uptake of the recycled content of polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) in the soft drinks bottles. The purpose of this article is to model the process through which the industry could turn a legal compliance matter -the one of placing on the market plastic bottles with an ever-increased rPET content -into a public communication opportunity of the eco -innovation over the soft drinks supply chain.

Sustainability is one of the global key trends amplified by the Covid-19 pandemic. The main economic players took action in setting the sustainability goals in their organizations and bringing sustainability at the top of their priorities. Sustainability is now at the beginning of all innovation and development processes. The way sustainability is understood by all involved actors will drive the success of the sustainability projects. From the last study we have conducted, one of the most important conclusion was the fact that as long as consumers are educated and informed about sustainability measures they are open to get involved and are enough motivated to take action. The main goals are compelled by authorities and underlined by NGOs, implemented and adopted by the economic environment, the producers and the retailers or trade channels. Their task is to set the main measures for implementing the proper sustainability related projects, so they should be called drivers in the communication process of sustainability and the consumers could follow, becoming the followers in this important task. The purpose of this paper is to identify the main players of the sustainability communication process, to find a way they could act together and to design an original model for communicating sustainability. The model could be used by the main sustainability players in order to find a common ground, for creating motivation and setting the main objectives and measures for reaching the sustainability goal