What does it mean to be a truly sustainable company?

For a long time in the business world, “sustainability” was a buzzword. A term often applied with little consistency and less intention to various disparate initiatives. In some ways, sustainability used to be a side project or a distraction: a drain on precious resources and a potential drag on the bottom line. 

Those days are over. Our stakeholders — consumers, customers, investors, communities, governments, and NGOs — demand action. They want a more focused, more integrated approach — that places sustainability at the heart of business operations. 

At PepsiCo, we recognize that the futures of our company, communities, and planet are all inextricably linked. That reality has been driven home again and again in recent years, first by the COVID-19 pandemic, then the deadly conflict in Ukraine. Through it all, climate change has continued to increase its impact on our fragile ecosystems, leading to extreme weather, crop failures, and changes in the range and abundance of certain plants and animals. All of these issues have resulted in a collision of food shortages, supply chain bottlenecks, and a refugee crisis unlike anything Europe has seen since World War II. 

In this context, we have been thinking hard about what it means to be a truly sustainable company, one that creates growth and value for all of our stakeholders. We know that to be successful five years, 10 years, 20 years from now, we need to create more resilience in our business. And that means we need to change what we do and how we do it.

In September 2021 we launched a strategic, end-to-end transformation of our business. We put sustainability and human capital at the center of how we will create growth and value, by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for the planet and people. We call this approach PepsiCo Positive (pep+), reflecting a new reality where consumers, customers, our associates, investors, regulators, and many other stakeholders are becoming more interested in the future of the planet and society. From sourcing ingredients to making and selling our products more sustainably, pep+ connects the future of our business with the future of our planet.

The launch of pep+ is a turning point for PepsiCo. 

By advancing our pep+ goals, we believe we will be a consistent top market performer and a force for good by doing what's right for people and the planet.

As we evolve our approach to sustainability, how we report our progress and success will also evolve.

This year marks our first-ever Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Summary. The Summary includes how we're leveraging our brands, people, and scale to create positive change, and illustrates progress with the latest real-life examples. The revamped digital format seamlessly directs stakeholders to the most relevant information, sitting atop a wealth of detailed data, updated regularly on our time-stamped ESG Topics A-Z resource. 

It's a significant change for us, but we are starting from a position of strength, as Corporate Secretary has recognized us for best ESG reporting for the second year. I am confident that our reporting will only improve as we work toward a fully integrated structure, where we publish our Annual ESG Summary alongside our Annual Report.

This inaugural Summary features information on our strategy, goals, and progress with pep+ and its three pillars:

To illustrate how pep+ looks in practice, take how we envision the transformation of products like our iconic Lay’s potato chip. Lay's is already the world’s largest food brand. To maintain that position, we need to continue to work toward our goals and take decisive and sustainable actions. That means the chip you love will start with a sustainably grown potato on a regenerative field. Then the chip will be made and delivered from a Net-Zero and Net Water Positive supply chain, sold in a beautiful bio-compostable bag, and be the best tasting product with the lowest sodium levels in the market. That's the future of the #1 potato chip. That is the future of our company.

With the current uncertainty in the world, there might be a temptation to slow down our investments in pep+. I don’t believe we should do that. In fact, we should, and will, do the opposite. As leaders, we should continue investing in sustainable packaging and regenerative agriculture, making our supply chains more sustainable and ensuring our brands innovate in positive spaces.

By becoming better ourselves, we not only meet the needs of our stakeholders but position ourselves for long-term growth. We can help define for the world what it means to be a truly sustainable company, and build a stronger, more resilient future for us all.