PepsiCo’s 2018 Sustainability Report “addresses the challenges of a modern food system”

25 Sep 2019 --- PepsiCo has published its 2018 Sustainability Report, which describes both the company’s progress toward its goals while stipulating the company’s future agenda. The report is an effort to increase PepsiCo’s transparency and entails six priority areas where the company sees itself contributing most for a more sustainable food system. PepsiCo plans to achieve 100 percent sustainably sourced potatoes, whole corn, oats, oranges, palm sugar and sugar cane by 2020.

The news comes as the UN Climate Action Summit 2019 identified the food industry as having a significant role in averting the rapid onset of global warming. 

“We are deeply committed to accelerating progress in our sustainability agenda. Operating an agricultural supply chain touching 60 nations, we undoubtedly have a role to play in addressing the challenges of the modern food system. These range from climate change and resource scarcity, to packaging waste and income inequality,” says Ramon Laguarta, PepsiCo’s CEO and Chairman. 

The company boasts a portfolio that includes 22 billion-dollar brands that generated more than US$1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales in 2018. With that in mind, PepsiCo is one juggernaut company within the food industry able to make a substantial contribution to the adverse effects of climate change. 

PepsiCo highlights progress made in 2018 in six sustainability-related categories:

• Agriculture: Compared to 2017’s 24 percent, 51 percent of PepsiCo’s direct farmer-sourced, agricultural raw materials were sustainably sourced through its Sustainable Farming Program (SFP). 

• Water: 1.1 billion liters of water were locally replenished through watershed conservation projects in high water risk areas around the world.

• Packaging: The company set a target to use 25 percent recycled content in its plastic packaging by 2025.

• Products: 44 percent of its beverage portfolio had less than 100 calories from added sugars per 12oz serving. The company previously set a target to reach 67 percent by 2025.

• Climate: PepsiCo reduced Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by nearly 2.2 million metric tons.

• People: 40 percent of the company’s global manager positions were held by women, aiming at 50 percent by 2025. 

“I’m proud of our significant progress and the combined efforts of our team, but these efforts are only the beginning—we still have work to do,” Laguarta states. 

The company aims to improve water-use efficiency by 15 percent in its agricultural supply chain, with a focus on corn and potatoes. The year 2025 is set as a benchmark to increase recycled content in plastic packaging to 25 percent, reduce 35 percent of its virgin plastic in its beverage portfolio and design 100 percent of packaging to be recyclable, compostable or biodegradable.

Regarding its product portfolio, PepsiCo not only wants to tackle added sugars but also reduce sodium and saturated fat from its foods portfolio. It also plans to contribute to curbing climate change by reducing GHG emissions across its value chain by 20 percent by 2030. Lastly, the company is set to make internal advancements regarding human rights, diversity and prosperity. 

“Advancing sustainability and being a more purposeful company will play an essential role in PepsiCo’s future,” Laguarta concludes. 

Edited by Anni Schleicher

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