PepsiCo Unveils Global Nutrition, Environment and Workplace Goals

BRONX, N.Y., March 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), the world's second-largest food and beverage company, today announced new global goals in the areas of nutrition, the environment, and workplace practices at its investor conference here at the Legends Suite Club in Yankee Stadium.

The goals are designed to advance PepsiCo's commitment to deliver sustainable growth and they apply to the company's food and beverage businesses around the world, including Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade.  PepsiCo calls this commitment Performance with Purpose.

To encourage people to live healthier lives – and to address growing consumer desire for healthier, great-tasting products – PepsiCo is committing to achieve industry-leading nutrition goals, including:

• Increasing the whole grains, fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds and low-fat dairy in its product portfolio
• Reducing the average sodium per serving in key global food brands in key markets by 25 percent by 2015
• Reducing the average saturated fat per serving in key global food brands in key markets by 15 percent by 2020
• Reducing the average added sugar per serving in key global beverage brands in key markets by 25 percent by 2020

"We believe that a healthier future for all people and our planet means a more successful future for PepsiCo," said Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo chairman and chief executive officer. "These commitments are shared by all of our businesses and reflect our focus on profitable, long-term growth and will guide us as we continue to build a portfolio of enjoyable and wholesome foods and beverages for consumers around the world."

PepsiCo is among 10 leading food and beverage companies to sign the "Global Commitment to Action on the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health," a commitment addressed to the World Health Organization in 2008.  The company's new global goals are action steps that directly address the key WHO commitments.

Following is a sample of some of PepsiCo's commitments:

Human Sustainability/Health and Wellness

• Display calorie count and key nutrients on food and beverage packaging by 2012
• Eliminate the direct sale of full-sugar soft drinks to primary and secondary schools around the globe by 2012
• Expand PepsiCo Foundation and PepsiCo corporate contribution initiatives to promote healthier communities, including enhancing diet and physical activity programs
• Invest in business and research and development to expand offerings of more affordable, nutritionally relevant products for underserved and lower-income communities

Environmental Sustainability

• Provide access to safe water to three million people in developing countries by the end of 2015
• Reduce packaging weight by 350 million pounds — avoiding the creation of 1 billion pounds of landfill waste by 2012
• Work to eliminate all solid waste to landfills from PepsiCo's production facilities
• Commit to an absolute reduction in GHG emissions across global operations

Talent Sustainability

• Ensure a safe workplace by continuing to reduce lost time injury rates, while striving to improve other occupational health and safety metrics through best practices
• Encourage associates to lead healthier lives by offering workplace wellness programs globally
• Match eligible associate charitable contributions globally, dollar for dollar, through the PepsiCo Foundation

For more information and a full list of PepsiCo's global goals and commitments please go to www.pepsico.com/goalsandcommitments.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that each generates more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Our main businesses - Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade - also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to our consumers in more than 200 countries. With annualized revenues of nearly $60 billion, PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose. By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide. In recognition of its continued sustainability efforts, PepsiCo was named for the third time to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) and for the fourth time to the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index (DJSI North America) in 2009. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

Cautionary Statement

Statements in this communication that are "forward-looking statements" are based on currently available information, operating plans and projections about future events and trends. They inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted in such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: changes in demand for PepsiCo's products, as a result of changes in consumer preferences and tastes or otherwise; damage to PepsiCo's reputation; trade consolidation, the loss of any key customer, or failure to maintain good relationships with PepsiCo's bottling partners; PepsiCo's ability to hire or retain key employees or a highly skilled and diverse workforce; unstable political conditions, civil unrest or other developments and risks in the countries where PepsiCo operates; changes in the legal and regulatory environment; PepsiCo's ability to build and sustain proper information technology infrastructure, successfully implement its ongoing business process transformation initiative or outsource certain functions effectively; unfavorable economic conditions and increased volatility in foreign exchange rates; PepsiCo's ability to compete effectively; increased costs, disruption of supply or shortages of raw materials and other supplies; disruption of PepsiCo's supply chain; climate change or changes in legal, regulatory or market measures to address climate change; PepsiCo's ability to realize the anticipated cost savings and other benefits expected from the mergers with The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. (PBG) and PepsiAmericas, Inc. (PAS); failure to renew collective bargaining agreements or strikes or work stoppages; and any downgrade of PepsiCo's credit rating resulting in an increase of its future borrowing costs.

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 SEC, 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.

SOURCE PepsiCo