There was no love lost between Liz Truss and her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov following their meeting in Moscow last week, which he described as “like the deaf talking to the blind”.

With diplomatic tensions between Downing Street and the Kremlin still frosty, it’s perhaps not surprising Truss was “otherwise engaged” when Greenpeace campaigners today attempted to deliver a Valentine’s card to her at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

The card, signed by four million people, urged her to “show some love for the world’s oceans” by delivering a strong Global Ocean Treaty next month at the UN.

It comes as Friends of the Earth, Keep Britain Tidy and City to Sea have joined forces to urge the government to set legally binding targets to reduce plastic pollution. In an open letter to Defra environment secretary George Eustice, published today, they described the piecemeal banning of plastic straws and cutlery as the “first steps”.

It remains to be seen whether these heartfelt pleas will be answered as the government grapples with Russia, Northern Ireland and the ongoing fallout over Partygate. But, while ministers may be otherwise engaged, the industry is – at least – listening to campaigners’ concerns.

Having previously insisted it would not ditch single-use plastic bottles, Coca-Cola on Friday announced plans to significantly ramp up its use of reusable packaging.

By 2030, the fmcg giant aims to have at least 25% of all beverages globally sold in refillable/returnable glass or plastic bottles, or in refillable containers through traditional fountain or Coca-Cola Freestyle dispensers.

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It’s a significant move from the fmcg giant, which produces over 120 billion plastic bottles a year and has been named by Break Free From Plastic as the world’s worst plastic polluter for four years running.

The commitment has been welcomed by campaign groups including Greenpeace, who have called on others to follow Coke’s lead.

“Six years ago Greenpeace challenged Coca-Cola to set ambitious targets, reduce its enormous plastic footprint and support a bottle deposit return scheme. Now the voices of millions of people around the world, all rejecting single-use plastic, have finally been heard by Coke,” says Will McCallum, head of oceans at Greenpeace.

“This is the first substantial reuse commitment from a major brand and the time is overdue for other brands to embrace reuse so that we can achieve the low carbon, zero-waste economy that our planet, communities and climate desperately need.”

Coke’s rivals would do well to copy its example by listening to campaigners’ pleas. As would supermarkets. Because, according to latest research from Retail Insight, the power of the so-called green pound is set only to grow in coming years.

Of 1,000 UK shoppers surveyed, 82% said they have tried to be more sustainable in their consumption habits in the past 12 months – a figure that rises to 95% in the 18 to 24-year-old demographic.

And three quarters (74%) of those polled by Retail Insight said retailers could do more to improve their sustainability credentials, with just 4% saying supermarkets were doing all they could to be environmentally friendly.

With shoppers increasingly voting with their feet – and their wallets – it’s “more important than ever that supermarkets’ sustainability initiatives go beyond the rhetoric” says Paul Boyle, CEO of Retail Insight. 

He’s got a point. Because if retailers and brands want to win the love of consumers, they’ve got to show they are actually listening - and willing to take decisive action.

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