PepsiCo releases 2019 sustainability report

PepsiCo, Inc. published its 2019 sustainability report, highlighting progress toward its sustainability goals and reaffirming the company’s agenda to help build a more sustainable food system.

“Today’s global environmental and societal pressures are bringing into sharp focus the need for systemic change,” said Ramon Laguarta, PepsiCo’s CEO and Chairman. “These challenges not only require deeper commitment from the private sector, they also require demonstrated and sustained action. As a global food and beverage leader, we have a responsibility to use our scale and influence to help tackle long-term challenges, including addressing the threats to our food system which have been further strained by the unfolding pandemic. We’re making significant progress that I’m very proud of. We know it will take even more, however. From how we grow food and make products, to inspiring positive change – we are committed to help build a better future for people and the planet.”

The 2019 Sustainability Report shares progress across the priority areas where PepsiCo believes it can have the most meaningful impact: agriculture, water, climate, packaging, products, and people. Highlights include:

Delivering Safe Water Access: PepsiCo believes water is a human right and its philanthropic arm The PepsiCo Foundation has helped more than 44 million people in underserved communities around the world gain access to safe water through distribution, purification and conservation programs since 2006, far surpassing its goal to reach 25 million by 2025. Building on the success of these programs, PepsiCo has set an ambitious new target to reach a total of 100 million people by 2030 and will focus its near-term work on water distribution, sanitation, and hygiene programs to bolster public health in the wake of COVID-19.

Sourcing Ingredients through More Sustainable and Resilient Agriculture: On farms around the world, PepsiCo is working to improve farmer livelihoods, while raising standards for efficient resource use, environmental consciousness, and worker rights. Through the company’s Sustainable Farming Program (SFP), in 2019, nearly 80 % of PepsiCo’s farmer-sourced agricultural raw materials, like potatoes, whole corn, oranges, and oats were verified as sustainably sourced, meeting the SFP’s robust criteria, progress towards meeting its goal to reach 100 % by the end of 2020.

Accelerating Climate Action: PepsiCo reduced its absolute GHG emissions by 6 % across its global value chain in 2019. In April 2020, PepsiCo affirmed its plans to accelerate action on climate change by signing the UN’s Business Ambition for 1.5°C pledge, joining other leading companies in committing to set science-based emissions-reduction targets across its entire value chain, aimed at limiting global warming to 1.5°C, while also developing a long-term strategy for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. This builds on PepsiCo’s announcement earlier in the year that the company is shifting to 100 % renewable electricity through a diverse portfolio of solutions for direct operations in the U.S., its largest market. Nine countries in PepsiCo’s European business operations already use 100 % of their electricity from renewable sources.

“As we look to the decade ahead, global efforts to mitigate climate change and support a more sustainable and inclusive future are more crucial than ever,” said Simon Lowden, PepsiCo’s Chief Sustainability Officer. “From providing access to safe water in underserved communities, to working with farmers to grow crops more sustainably, to innovating around packaging, we remain focused on our long-term agenda. It will require agility, collective action and collaboration, and as we think about our approach, we’re determined to embrace an important lesson of COVID-19: The world can mobilize quickly when working together toward a shared goal. We know building a more resilient food system is possible, and we’ll continue working with partners around the world to catalyze change for a better tomorrow.”

The report and downloadable assets are available here.