PepsiCo published its first ESG Summary since the launch of PepsiCo Positive on July 7. PepsiCo Positive is a strategic end-to-end business transformation with sustainability and human capital at the center of how the company will create growth and value.

The 2021 ESG Summary – an evolution from PepsiCo’s prior Sustainability Reports – highlights how the company is leveraging its brands, people and scale to chart a new course to drive positive action for the planet and people. It also highlights progress made on industry-leading commitments.

PepsiCo Positive is embedded in every part of PepsiCo’s business and the 2021 ESG Summary details initial progress and real-world examples across three pillars – Positive Agriculture, Positive Value Chain and Positive Choices. Highlights for PepsiCo Sub-Saharan Africa include:

Positive Agriculture

Supported the livelihoods of emerging farmers and rural communities via initiatives such as the Kgodiso Development Fund.

The fund will use the $17.54 million investment budget on initiatives such as the establishment of model farms which will be used to upskill and train emerging farmers on agricultural best practices.

The She Feeds the World (SFtW) programme, funded by the PepsiCo Foundation in partnership with international humanitarian organisation, CARE also supported the livelihoods of rural communities and female farmers.

Through the $2million investment in Uganda, SFtW is helping to increase opportunities for women small-scale producers with education, resources and economic support to help increase their crop yields, incomes and access to nutrition locally.

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Positive Value Chain

In South Africa, PepsiCo aims to achieve 100% renewable electricity by 2030 at its manufacturing sites.

Approximately three percent of the electricity used at SA manufacturing sites is from solar energy and plans are in place to increase this to eight percent by expanding onsite renewable technology and engaging with Independent Power Producers to source renewable electricity.

Pepsico is aggressively expanding solar installations on its sites and is currently busy with installations at five new sites with further installations to follow annually.

Achieved 31% reduction in operational water usage from a 2015 baseline. The company is also committed to achieving 100% water replenishment in by 2025 by adopting the Alliance for Water Stewardship Standard.

Pepsico is also committed to water replenishment to offset the water use at its operations. This is done by partnering with third parties such as municipalities and the WWF, and activities include clearing of alien vegetation in high risk water sheds, as well as repairs of water leaks at schools.

PepsiCo is committed to changing the way packaging is made, used, and disposed of across its food system.

To this end, in South Africa, the company includes on-pack education about recycling; has introduced 20% recycled PET in its beverage packaging portfolio; replaced plastic straws with biodegradable paper straws (extended to the Liquifruit 250ml and Fruitree 200ml juice boxes).

And Spekko Rice has introduced new packaging with 25% less plastic in every bag. These efforts help to advance PepsiCo's vision of a world where plastics never becomes waste.

Positive Choices

Seventy percent of products already comply to sodium targets, 86% of products already comply to saturated fat targets and 82% of products comply to sugar reduction targets. Work is being done on the balance of products to work towards overall target compliance.

"PepsiCo’s commitment and action to create a more sustainable and resilient food system is unwavering and we are proud of the progress that we have made in 2021 toward our new and updated PepsiCo Positive goals," said Jim Andrew, Chief Sustainability Officer, PepsiCo.

"There is still much more work to be done and we cannot do it alone, so we – in partnership with our value chain partners, communities, NGOs and government leaders – will continue investing in action, innovation and partnerships that enable us all to realize a more sustainable future."

The digital 2021 ESG Summary was designed to link seamlessly with PepsiCo’s ESG Topics A-Z, an evergreen deep-dive on PepsiCo’s approach and progress for roughly 50 sustainability-related topics.

In addition to ongoing transparency in reporting, PepsiCo will continue to publish its ESG Summary annually.

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