Helping to Build a More Sustainable Food System

This week, delegates from around the world are coming together at the United Nations to talk about how we can work together to meet humanity’s greatest challenges. One topic that’s sure to come up is the future of food security, which was highlighted in the recent report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

There’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that, to put it simply, the modern food system is no longer fit for purpose. Rising demand from a growing population has contributed to the depletion of vital resources and increased pressure on the natural world. Too many farmers and workers still face poverty and discrimination. Single-use plastic packaging is disposed in ways that litter many communities and pollute our oceans. And many people still struggle to access healthier diets.

The good news is, if we come together and take action now, we are not beyond hope. For years, these were problems exclusively for governments or NGOs. Today, stakeholders also expect companies to help lead the way. That’s a view we at PepsiCo share. As a food and beverage company whose products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world, and operates an agricultural supply chain that touches 60 nations and supports over a hundred thousand farm workers, we undoubtedly have a role to play in addressing these challenges.

Over the past decade, we have made significant progress in changing both the products we make and how we make them. But while we are extremely proud of our past achievements, I believe the future will require us to be even more ambitious and purposeful, at both the brand and corporate level.

That is why PepsiCo is embracing a new purpose behind our sustainability agenda: to help build a more sustainable food system. One that can meet human needs and continue to drive economic growth and social development, without exceeding the planet’s natural boundaries.

This ambition is part of our new vision for PepsiCo—to Be the Global Leader in Convenient Foods and Beverages by Winning with Purpose—as well as our aspirations to be Faster, Stronger, and Better. It is a key part of our plan to further integrate purpose into our business strategy and our brands, including LIFEWTR, Gatorade, Lay’s, and Stacy’s. And to help make this effort successful, we have identified six priority areas where we believe PepsiCo can make the greatest contribution to building a more sustainable food system.

I’m proud to say that we’re already making progress in many of these areas, and in our 2018 Sustainability Report you can read about some of our efforts, as well as some of the long-term goals we’ve set, including:

1)   Next Generation Agriculture – Advancing environmental, social and economic benefits to farmers and communities through more sustainable agriculture.

• On farms around the world, we’re working to raise standards for efficient resource use, environmental consciousness, and human rights. Through our Sustainable Farming Program, in 2018, over half our farmer-sourced agricultural raw materials, like potatoes, whole corn, oranges, and oats were verified as sustainably sourced. [1] Our aim is to reach 100 percent by the end of 2020. Already, 100 percent of potatoes used throughout our North America Frito-Lay portfolio, including Lay’s and Ruffles, have reached this standard. 

2)   Positive Water Impact – Improving water stewardship across our business and in regions where we operate.

• We’re striving to improve water-use efficiency and aiming to replenish 100 percent of the water we consume for manufacturing in high water-risk areas by 2025. Because PepsiCo has long believed that water is a human right, in 2018, we helped provide safe water access to over six million people—boosting the total number to 22 million people since 2006.

3)   Circular Future for Packaging – Delivering our vision of a world where plastic packaging need never become waste.

• We recently unveiled a new target to reduce 35 percent of virgin plastic content across our beverage brands by 2025, driven by increased use of recycled content and alternative packaging materials. Beginning next year, LIFEWTR will be packaged in 100 percent recycled plastic in the U.S., and bubly will be packaged exclusively in aluminum. And we’re continuing to advance our Beyond the Bottle strategy, most notably by working to grow SodaStream, which offers consumers the chance to prepare customized beverages at home without the need for single-use plastic bottles.

4)   Improved Choices Across Our Portfolio – Reducing added sugars, sodium, and saturated fats in many of our products.

• In the U.S. alone, we have nearly 500 beverage choices with 100 Calories or less per 12 oz. serving, and around the world zero-sugar Pepsi Black is now available in over 80 countries. We’re also offering more snacks with lower sodium and saturated fat, from Lay’s Baked to Kurkure Multigrain. And we’re introducing more convenient foods with nutritious ingredients, like Tropicana Whole Fruit and Sunbites Veggie Harvest, to complement acquisitions like Bare Snacks.

5)   Climate Change Mitigation – Curbing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across our value chain.

• We have set a goal to reduce absolute GHG emissions across our value chain by 20 percent by 2030, from a 2015 baseline. We will do this by continuing to drive down emissions throughout our value chain, from our fleet of electric vehicles to using 100 percent renewable energy in our manufacturing operations in seven European nations. 

6)   People & Prosperity – Advancing respect for human rights, promoting diversity and inclusion in our workplaces, and increasing the earnings potential of women in our communities.

• Women comprise 40 percent of our managers globally, and since 2016, we’ve invested $27.3 million to support initiatives that benefit women in communities where we operate.

Let me be clear: these efforts are only the beginning. I recognize that we still have a lot of work to do. But I want all our stakeholders to know that advancing sustainability and being a more purposeful company will play an essential role in PepsiCo’s future.

In the coming months, we will engage experts from industry, government, nonprofits, and communities to gather more views on what it will take to help build a more sustainable food system and how best PepsiCo can contribute. It’s a long-term challenge that will require a broad coalition. But we are committed to meeting our responsibility to our planet and its communities, and we won’t rest until we do.

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[1] “Sustainably-sourced” refers to meeting the independently-verified Social, Environmental and Economic principles of PepsiCo’s Sustainable Farming Program, designed to reflect best practices and achieve positive outcomes for farmers, communities and the planet.