PepsiCo Sets Significant Health and Environmental Targets
It’s going to take nearly a decade, but PepsiCo, the second largest food and beverage company in the world, is going to reduce sugar, salt, and fat in all of its beverages and snack products.
With a 2025 deadline, the company says it’s making the changes to all of its product lines including Pepsi, Gatorade (which recently launched an organic version) Quaker oatmeal products, and Lay’s potato chips. The move is in efforts to respond to the “needs of society”—most specifically the increasing demand for cleaner foods and beverages.
“To succeed in today’s volatile and changing world, corporations must do three things exceedingly well: focus on delivering strong financial performance, do it in a way that is sustainable over time and be responsive to the needs of society,” PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi said in a statement. “The first ten years of PepsiCo’s Performance with Purpose journey have demonstrated what is possible when a company does well by also doing good. We have created significant shareholder value, while taking important steps to address environmental, health and social priorities all around the world.”
Among its goals, PepsiCo says it’s targeting a maximum of 100-calories per 12-ounces coming from added sugars in at least two-thirds of its beverages. Currently, it’s about forty percent—a 12-ounce can of Pepsi-Cola contains 150 calories, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The move follows 2020 targets set by the company in 2009.
“Added sugars rose 4% between 2006 and 2015, compared with the company’s 25% reduction target for 2020,” reports the Wall Street Journal. “PepsiCo has cut sodium by 12% and saturated fat by 3% over the same period. It said in 2009 it wanted to cut sodium and saturated fat by 25% and 15%, respectively.”
Like other food and beverage companies, PepsiCo has recently seen an increase in cleaner products known as “everyday nutrition”—those that boast whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
“PepsiCo’s journey is far from complete,” said Nooyi, “and our new goals are designed to build on our progress and broaden our efforts.”
In addition to the product reformulations, PepsiCo also announced environmental targets that include improved water usage, food waste management, and a 20 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
PepsiCo joins other leading food and beverage companies reformulating products, sourcing cleaner ingredients, and setting sustainability targets, including McDonald’s, Nestlé, and Coca-Cola.
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