PepsiCo’s Environment report not only sets out PepsiCo’s progress on its “path to zero” environmental impact, it also unveils how it will stretch its environment ambitions even further. Over the next ten years, PepsiCo UK aims to:
• Be fossil fuel free across its operations
• Unplug PepsiCo UK’s largest factories from the water mains
• Send nothing to landfill across the entire supply chain
• Make all product packaging renewable, recyclable or bio-degradable
Two years on from its first Environment report, PepsiCo UK has also made good progress by:
• Decoupling business growth from increased emissions: in 2008 the business’ absolute carbon footprint remained flat, despite growing by almost 10%
• Achieving zero waste to landfill status for nine UK manufacturing sites, and reducing the waste to landfill across the business as a whole by 71%
• Becoming the first company in the world to develop and retain the Carbon Trust’s Carbon Reduction Label with Walkers crisps. Walkers’ carbon footprint has also decreased by 7%
• Extending the Carbon Reduction Label to Quaker Oats products in 2009
The report follows comments made by Richard Evans, President of PepsiCo UK & Ireland, at an Aldersgate Group event at the House of Commons last night. In his speech, Richard called on government to simplify the framework and complex legislation on renewable energy, and encourage industry to invest in, and switch to more sustainable resources through the provision of greater financial incentives.
Richard Evans said: “PepsiCo has a strong record of investing in renewable energy, from solar power in Turkey, biomass plants run on rice husks in India to CHP plants in Texas and Florida. I want the UK and Ireland business to go further but in our experience the UK does not currently possess the right policy framework to support large scale investment in renewable energy.”
Last year PepsiCo developed a biomass CHP boiler using oat husks at its Quaker factory in Cupar, which would have produced enough energy for the entire site. The project has since been put on hold as it is not financially viable under the current UK framework.
He continued: “This frustration was part of the reason we joined the Aldersgate Group. Collectively we can give the Government the confidence it needs to introduce the right policy framework to drive meaningful action by business.
“For me, this means introducing a robust carbon floor price, financial incentives to encourage investment in the green economy, allowing businesses to count the carbon benefit of off-site energy, and a recalibration of the tax system – away from taxes on employing people to taxes on fossil fuels.”
The speech and the report are available on PepsiCo’s UK corporate website: www.pepsico.co.uk
