PepsiCo today announced a new sustainability program called PepsiCo Positive, or pep+, committing to “a strategic end-to-end transformation with sustainability at the center of how the company will create growth and value by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for the planet and people.”
pep+ unites sustainability goals under three key themes:
Positive agriculture
Positive value chain
Positive choices
Here are a few examples of how Pepsi will meet these goals:
Converting all Pepsi-branded products to 100% rPET bottles, which will cut greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 30% per bottle. In the United States, Pepsi Zero Sugar will be sold in rPET bottles starting next year, with all products converted by 2030.
Introducing fully compostable packaging made with plant-based materials. Starting this month, Frito-Lay’s Off The Eaten Path products at Whole Foods will be packaged in compostable packaging.
“pep+ will change our brands and how they win in the market,” said Ramon Laguarta, PepsiCo’s Chairman and CEO. “For example, imagine Lay’s will start with a potato grown sustainably on a regenerative field, and then be cooked and delivered from a Net-Zero and Net Water Positive supply chain, sold in a bio-compostable bag, with the lowest sodium levels in the market. That’s a positive choice. That’s the best tasting, #1 potato chip of the future. That’s how pep+ will be better for people, for the planet, and for our business. Now, imagine the scale and impact when applied to all 23 of our billion-dollar brands.”
By Krista Garver
Source: foodindustryexecutive.com
Coca-Cola is unveiling a fully plant-based PET (bPET) bottle prototype, excluding the cap and label. The beverage giant has produced a limited run of 900 bottles, confirming the prototypes are recyclable within existing recycling infrastructures, alongside PET from oil-based sources.
McDonald’s and Starbucks are committing an additional US$10 million to the NextGen Consortium, an initiative aiming to improve environmental sustainability standards in the foodservice industry. Founded by investment firm Closed Loop Partners, the Consortium is investigating methods of advancing the design, commercialization and recovery of packaging materials.
Hortifrut is purchasing Atlantic Blue for US$280 million. Atlantic Blue is a key player in the growing and marketing of berries in Europe and Northern Africa, based in Huelva, Spain. The transaction will allow Hortifrut to expand its growing area by about 20% and consolidate its position as the largest fresh blueberry platform in Europe and the UK.
