PepsiCo has published its 2022 ESG Summary, reporting how it has reduced its carbon footprint through agriculture, has improved its water-use efficiency, and has provided safe water access for people worldwide. The company admits to less progress in packaging and emissions reductions.
The 2022 report marks the first full year of reporting since the company launch of PepsiCo Positive (pep+). The pep+ program aims to transform the company with multiple ESG targets, from changing how their ingredients are grown to how products are moved and sold.
In terms of sourcing ingredients, PepsiCo has more than doubled its regenerative farming footprint in 2022 to over 900,000 acres globally. The company has also reduced carbon emissions from agriculture by more than 330,000 metric tons.
"PepsiCo is at the forefront, demonstrating how food companies and producers can collaborate effectively to cultivate sustainable, affordable, and safe food,” said Chandler Goule, National Association of Wheat Growers CEO. “PepsiCo has made meaningful investments in agriculture, and they have led the way in engaging growers from the outset to ensure sustainability objectives are both attainable and mutually beneficial."
PepsiCo has also improved its water-use efficiency by 22%, nearing its 2025 goal of 25%. Beyond water use, the company has provided safe water access to more than 12 million people in 2022 and now has provided safe water to over 80 million people globally since 2006.
While PepsiCo has made substantial progress overall in its agricultural and water goals, becoming net zero and reducing the use of virgin plastic remains a more difficult priority to reach.
The company has issued more than $2.25 billion in green bonds since 2019 toward these goals. Proceeds from green bonds go towards funding projects that buy sustainable packaging, helping the company in its attempts to reduce 35% of its virgin plastic content for beverages by 2025.
PepsiCo calls for collaboration and collective action from multiple stakeholders for removing regulatory barriers toward sustainable progress in these areas. They have expressed, in detail, the sustainability-related topics that matter to their company and their key stakeholders in their ESG Topic A-Z report.
