US – American food and beverage company PepsiCo says it has made progress in meeting targets in a number of areas of its business around regenerative agriculture and nutrition under its PepsiCo Positive (pep+) plan.
Through its Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) program, the company aims to use resources efficiently, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, replenish water, improve its products and recapture packaging materials.
PepsiCo says it has transitioned more than 345,000 acres to regenerative agriculture practices in the US and Canada.
This is part of its journey to convert all seven million acres of its farmland to regenerative farming methods by 2030 across the globe.
PepsiCo also reports a reduction of Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 25% from a 2015 baseline supported by renewable energy sources.
However, the company reported in 2021 that Scope 3 emissions, which account for 93% of the company’s emissions, had increased by 5% from a 2015 baseline, due largely to unprecedented business growth.
In its water conservation efforts, PepsiCo says it has improved its operational water-use efficiency by 18% in high-water risk areas from a 2015 baseline against a target of 25% by 2025.
The company adds that it was able to replenish 34% of the water used in operations to local watersheds in 2021, a total of more than 6.1 billion liters of water.
In an effort to expand its portfolio to provide consumers with more product choices with improved nutrition, PepsiCo has set several ingredient reduction goals pertaining to saturated fat, added sugar, and sodium.
Four years ahead of schedule in 2021, PepsiCo says it has achieved its saturated fat reduction goal of 75% of its convenience food portfolio (i.e., not exceeding 1.1 grams of saturated fat per 100 calories).
In addition, 53% of PepsiCo’s beverage portfolio volume now has fewer than 100 calories from added sugars per 12-oz serving.
In addition, two-thirds (66%) of its convenient food’s portfolio volume does not exceed 1.3 milligrams of sodium per calorie.
To fast-track its efforts, PepsiCo highlights that it is purposely incorporating more diverse ingredients in both new and existing products that are better for the planet and deliver nutritional benefits.
The ingredients being prioritized include chickpeas, plant-based proteins, and whole grains, while also expanding its positioning in the nuts and seeds category.
Liked this article? Subscribe to Food Business Africa News, our regular email newsletters with the latest news insights from Africa and the World’s food and agro industry. SUBSCRIBE HERE
