Earth Day comes only once a year, but PepsiCo aims to recognize what it stands for every day. The company is committed to doing its part to address the impacts of climate change — with an ambitious goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2040.
To reach this pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) target, PepsiCo is taking actions such as expanding sustainable agriculture practices, adopting more energy-efficient manufacturing processes and shifting to renewable electricity. The company is also engaging with
partners in an effort to reduce emissions across its entire supply chain.
"We have to do more than just minimize our own environmental impact — we must influence the larger system to decarbonize along with us if society is to deliver the transition needed to avert a climate crisis," says Roberta Barbieri, Vice President
of Global Sustainability at PepsiCo. "PepsiCo is committed to reducing emissions in our own operations and supporting our business partners on this journey by sharing best practices, building capabilities and collaborating on solutions."
PepsiCo continues to work toward achieving its net-zero emissions goal, as it reduced greenhouse gas emissions from company facilities, vehicles and the purchase of electricity, heat or steam (scopes 1 & 2) by 25% in 2021 (against a 2015 baseline).
To continue that progress, the company is investing in even more partnerships and new technologies designed to create positive outcomes for the planet and people.
We have to do more than just minimize our own environmental impact — we must influence the larger system to decarbonize along with us.
Spreading sustainable farming practices
Regenerative agriculture presents one of the greatest opportunities to address climate change, as these sustainable practices help capture carbon and reduce emissions. PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation are expanding the use of regenerative practices
through programs like Agrovita, which is helping plantain and cocoa producers in southern Mexico grow their crops more sustainably. Participating farmers will be provided with training on best practices related to soil health and conservation, pest
and disease control, and crop diversity.
Agrovita aims to benefit more than 37,000 people over three years through economic opportunities and food security, and it will help PepsiCo reach its pep+ goal of spreading regenerative agriculture practices across 7 million acres globally by 2030 —
an area approximately equal to the company’s entire agricultural footprint.
Supporting climate-resilient agriculture projects
To further its global approach to addressing climate issues, PepsiCo established the Positive Agriculture Outcomes (PAO) Fund, which is granting nearly $2 million to 16 innovative regenerative agriculture projects in 10 different countries during the
first half of 2022.
One prime example: N-Drip. The gravity-powered drip irrigation
system for farms has been shown to reduce water consumption by 50% and carbon emissions by as much as 83% compared to traditional flood irrigation. Through the PAO Fund, PepsiCo created a cost-share program to help farmers in India adopt the technology.
The company estimates that the project will save approximately 750,000 liters of water and 450 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, with the potential for much more savings if the use of N-Drip is expanded to farms throughout India.
Helping suppliers adopt renewable electricity
As part of its work to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040, PepsiCo aims to transition to 100% renewable energy across its operations, reaching approximately 70% in 2021 through a series of solutions. To help its partners do the same, the company teamed
up with Schneider Electric, an independent advisor on renewable energy purchasing, to create pep+ REnew.
Through the pep+ REnew program, PepsiCo’s partners are able to evaluate their electricity profile, access education resources and explore renewable energy procurement options, which include participation in aggregate power purchase agreements. This
buying tool allows multiple companies to jointly invest in projects such as wind or solar farms.
Guiding companies to set net-zero commitments
PepsiCo is engaging suppliers, customers and third-party manufacturers on how they can positively impact the climate by hosting sustainability summits and webinars, where PepsiCo leaders such as Chief Executive Officer Ramon Laguarta and Chief Sustainability
Officer Jim Andrew discuss how to expand sustainability efforts beyond a company’s direct operational footprint.
One of the ways PepsiCo is doing that is through a partnership with climate consultancy Guidehouse and other leading food and beverage companies (Mars, McCormick). Together, they launched the Supplier Leadership on Climate Transition program last year.
This network is designed to mentor and train companies to set their own science-based net-zero emissions commitments. More than 400 have already enrolled in the program, which provides educational seminars, a scoring system with four levels of recognition
and a monthly check-in about best practices.
Investing in a new fleet of electric delivery trucks
Frito-Lay North America, a division of PepsiCo, has already implemented 100% renewable electricity in all of its U.S. plants, offices and distribution centers. It continues to expand those efforts to its delivery trucks, too — most recently, the
company invested in a pilot fleet of the new 100% electric, zero-emission Ford E-Transit vans,
with the first arriving in Carrollton, Texas, earlier this year.
Forty more are expected to arrive later this summer, and Frito-Lay estimates that using the electric fleet to make local deliveries around the Dallas-Fort Worth area will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 390 metric tons annually.