PEPSICO 2022 ESG SUMMARY: PROGRESS TOWARD PEP+ GOALS

PURCHASE, N.Y., June 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) published its 2022 Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Summary, sharing the first full year of reporting since the launch of PepsiCo Positive (pep+) in 2021.

pep+ is an end-to-end transformation program touching virtually every aspect of PepsiCo's business – from how ingredients are grown; to how its iconic portfolio of products are made, moved and sold; to what choices are offered to consumers. pep+ is the framework through which all actions on setting and working toward ESG targets are driven. 

In 2022, the company reported significant progress on its nutrition, agriculture, social (people and communities), water-use efficiency and safe water access goals. PepsiCo continues working toward driving down climate emissions and the use of virgin plastic.

PepsiCo reported the following results:

• For the second year, 75% of its convenient foods portfolio volume¹ did not exceed 1.1 grams of saturated fat per 100 calories
• PepsiCo initially achieved this goal in 2021, four years ahead of schedule. 
• Further reduced added sugars and sodium in its portfolio of products in 2022
• PepsiCo has 56% of its beverage portfolio volume² containing less than 100 calories from added sugars per 12-ounce serving, up from 53% in 2021.
• PepsiCo now has 68% of its convenient foods portfolio volume³ at or below 1.3 milligrams of sodium per calorie, up from 66% in 2021.
• More than doubled its regenerative farming footprint in 2022 to greater than 900,000 acres globally⁴
• PepsiCo has helped farmers become more resilient and has reduced carbon emissions from agriculture by more than 330,000 metric tons – the equivalent of taking more than 73,000 cars off the road for a year.
• Surpassed the company's goal to achieve 10% Hispanic representation in U.S. managerial positions
• PepsiCo has met this goal three years early. 
• Improved water-use efficiency by 22% in operations since 2015 in high water-risk areas⁵
• PepsiCo is now approaching its 2025 goal of 25%.
• Provided safe water access to another 12 million people in 2022
• PepsiCo has now provided safe water access to more than 80 million people since 2006.

Commenting on PepsiCo's approach to engaging farmers and leveraging regenerative agriculture practices to address climate change, National Association of Wheat Growers CEO Chandler Goule said, "PepsiCo is at the forefront, demonstrating how food companies and producers can collaborate effectively to cultivate sustainable, affordable, and safe food. 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."

The company acknowledged that it aspires to greater progress for packaging and emissions reductions. PepsiCo is working on plans to help advance its goals in these areas, prioritizing actions which are expected to make the biggest difference. 

Commenting on the results, Jim Andrew, Chief Sustainability Officer, said: "Decoupling our business growth from our resource use is always going to be difficult but meeting our long-term targets is critical and we are rapidly learning how and where we need to adjust. We issued $2.25 billion in green bonds since 2019, and we have made – and will continue to make – substantial investments toward key parts of our pep+ agenda, including becoming net zero and reducing the use of virgin plastics. We will also work diligently to remove barriers to progress, many of which are regulatory in nature. The challenges to addressing systemic issues are enormous and it will take a multi-stakeholder approach to get to where we all want to be."

Additional perspective from Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ramon Laguarta, and Jim Andrew about the progress toward PepsiCo's planet and people goals, and the urgency of collective action to address systemic change, is provided in a video message. 

PepsiCo is committed to providing transparent reporting and has been recognized by Corporate Secretary's Corporate Governance Awards for three consecutive years, as "Best ESG Reporting" for a large cap company.

Complementing the 2022 ESG Summary, PepsiCo also published details on its approach and progress for more than 50 topics on the ESG Topics A-Z webpage. This year's digital summary and all associated downloadable assets are available here.

For more information, please contact [email protected]

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $86 billion in net revenue in 2022, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales. 

Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with pep+ (PepsiCo Positive). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability and human capital at the center of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com, and follow on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @PepsiCo.  

Cautionary Statement

This release contains statements reflecting our views about our future performance that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are identified through the inclusion of words such as "aim," "anticipate," "believe," "drive," "estimate," "expect," "goal," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "strategy," "target" and "will" or similar statements or variations of such terms and other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted in such statements, including the risks associated with the deadly conflict in Ukraine; future demand for PepsiCo's products; damage to PepsiCo's reputation or brand image; product recalls or other issues or concerns with respect to product quality and safety; PepsiCo's ability to compete effectively; PepsiCo's ability to attract, develop and maintain a highly skilled and diverse workforce or effectively manage changes in our workforce; water scarcity; changes in the retail landscape or in sales to any key customer; disruption of PepsiCo's manufacturing operations or supply chain, including continued increased commodity, packaging, transportation, labor and other input costs; political or social conditions in the markets where PepsiCo's products are made, manufactured, distributed or sold; PepsiCo's ability to grow its business in developing and emerging markets; changes in economic conditions in the countries in which PepsiCo operates; future cyber incidents and other disruptions to our information systems; failure to successfully complete or manage strategic transactions; climate change or measures to address climate change; strikes or work stoppages; failure to realize benefits from PepsiCo's productivity initiatives; imposition or proposed imposition of new or increased taxes aimed at PepsiCo's products; imposition of limitations on the marketing or sale of PepsiCo's products; changes in laws and regulations related to the use or disposal of plastics or other packaging materials; failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations; and potential liabilities and costs from litigation, claims, legal or regulatory proceedings, inquiries or investigations.

For additional information on these and other factors that could cause PepsiCo's actual results to materially differ from those set forth herein, please see PepsiCo's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. PepsiCo undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

^1/2/3 As of 2022, results based on Top 26 Beverage markets representing 78% of our global beverages volume and Top 23 Convenient Foods markets representing 86% of our global convenient foods volume. Results reflect exclusion of Be & Cheery portfolio.

⁴ PepsiCo considers an acre as delivering regenerative impact when the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices results in quantified improvements in at least two of the environmental impact areas, with a preference for GHG to be one impact area.

⁵ Measured from a 2015 baseline, against a target of 25 percent by 2025.

SOURCE PepsiCo, Inc.