PepsiCo: Focused on Farming, Packaging and Product Reform

PepsiCo has outlined its environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts in its 2024 ESG summary, focusing on regenerative agriculture, product reformulation and circular economy practices.

Through its PepsiCo Positive (pep+) strategy, the company targets long-term business sustainability while responding to evolving environmental demands and global food system challenges.

According to the World Economic Forum, transforming global food systems to meet climate targets requires US$300bn in investment.

The Paris Agreement goals demand broad structural shifts in food production and supply.

PepsiCo, as one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies, sets out its contributions through large-scale changes across its agricultural sourcing, packaging and portfolio transformation.

Regenerative agriculture and sustainable sourcing

PepsiCo supports regenerative farming practices across 3.5 million acres in 2024, progressing its target of sourcing crops more sustainably by 2030.

The company reaches nearly 70% of its sustainable sourcing goals for key ingredients.

To help meet these targets, PepsiCo collaborates with suppliers to introduce plant cover crops, reduce soil tillage and integrate livestock into crop systems to improve soil health.

It also promotes crop diversity and focuses on watershed health.

The company provides training, creates partnerships and develops water programmes aimed at improving outcomes in high-risk areas. In those locations, it replenishes 75% of the water it uses.

PepsiCo says its approach to regenerative farming relies on three key pillars: providing economic support for farmers, enabling community engagement and equipping them with tools to scale regenerative practices.

Working with Practical Farmers in Iowa, it supports a multi-year project with US$6.7m awarded for innovation in agriculture and crop nutrition schemes.

Anne Tse, CEO of APAC Foods at PepsiCo, says: “We’ve expanded regenerative practices across millions of acres, strengthened our approach to water stewardship, advanced sustainable packaging and accelerated climate action. 

“Alongside these efforts, we’ve refined our goals to reflect today’s realities while keeping our long-term ambition firmly in view.”

Healthier products through portfolio reformulation

PepsiCo also uses the ESG summary to highlight changes to its food and drink portfolio.

This includes reformulating products to cut down on added sugars, sodium and saturated fats. The company says it reaches the following benchmarks in 2024:

• 67% of its beverages now contain reduced added sugars

• 77% of convenient food products meet a sodium threshold of 1.3mg per calorie

• 81% of products do not exceed 1.1g of saturated fat per 100 calories

PepsiCo achieves these reductions by reworking existing products and developing new ones. Its product development teams include nutrition scientists, flavour experts and chefs, who combine expertise to deliver flavour while limiting salt.

Anne says: “At the heart of pep+ is also the transformation of our portfolio. We’re bringing consumers products that reduce added sugars, sodium and saturated fats, while expanding choices with functional benefits and diverse ingredients. 

“This shift is resonating strongly in markets across the globe, underscoring the role our brands can play in supporting better choices every day.”

The company says its global convenient foods portfolio now delivers 69 billion portions of diverse ingredients annually.

Packaging reform and circular economy initiatives

In 2024, PepsiCo increased the share of its packaging that is reusable, recyclable or compostable by 93%. 

At the same time, it cut the overall amount of virgin plastic it used by 5% year-on-year. The company achieves this by reducing packaging weight, reconfiguring containers and settling products in smaller volumes to reduce space.

PepsiCo also adapts to local recycling conditions. In Pakistan, the Mountain Dew bottle changes from dark green to light green to meet the country’s recycling standards.

In China, Pepsi labels are now partial-wrap rather than full-wrap, and in Taiwan, the company introduces the first fully recycled polyethene terephthalate (rPET) bottle for carbonated drinks.

It participates in industry schemes such as Thailand’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programme, which manages the collection and recycling of flexible packaging. PepsiCo also trials artificial intelligence to sort materials and guide consumers on correct bin usage.

Jim Andrew, Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer at PepsiCo, says: "Our progress in 2024 shows that when we embed sustainability into the heart of our company, we not only help strengthen our communities and our planet, we also make our business more resilient." 

The company acknowledges that broader systemic change is required to make the circular economy model work.

Its efforts depend in part on improving recycling infrastructure worldwide and working with governments and partners to develop and scale new solutions.

PepsiCo’s 2024 ESG summary ties together the company’s progress across three fronts – agriculture, health and packaging – reinforcing its pep+ strategy as a cross-cutting plan for business sustainability and environmental responsibility.