PepsiCo Pooh-Poohs Plastic Waste Problem

As You Sow is a non-profit group whose function is to “harness shareholder power to create lasting change and align investments with values. Our mission is to promote environmental and social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy, coalition building, and innovative legal strategies. Our vision is a safe, just, and sustainable world in which protecting the environment and human rights is central to corporate decision making.” One in every of its core initiatives is decreasing plastic waste from corporations like PepsiCo and Coca-Cola.

Sounds easy sufficient. What it actually comes right down to is encouraging shareholders to steer the firms they put money into towards sustainable enterprise practices that assist a round financial system. As my colleague Carolyn Fortuna has written, As You Sow makes use of “shareholder resolutions and dialogue to alter a company’s practices and behavior. This tactic is known in the investment industry as ‘engagement’ to prod companies into increasing environmental responsibility.”

In December 2022, As You Sow efficiently concluded an agreement with PepsiCo to double the quantity of zero waste packaging it makes use of. In a press releaseAs You Sow introduced the corporate would enhance its reusable supply techniques by increasing its SodaStream enterprise in properties and workplaces and by rising its use of refillable plastic and glass bottles in chosen markets. As well as, it could discover new methods to make sure extra fountain drinks are served in reusable cups, and supply extra of its merchandise akin to Gatorade as powders and concentrates.

“The pledge was made in response to a shareholder proposal filed by As You Sow, asking the company to report on actions it could take to rapidly reduce dependence on single-use plastic packaging, with a suggested focus on setting stronger refillables goals. In March, the company agreed to set a goal by the end of 2022 for a percentage of beverages to be delivered via strategies that avoid or minimize single-use packaging,” As You Sow proclaimed.

PepsiCo Reneges

In a press launch on Might 22, 2025, PepsiCo announced it was “updating its packaging goals to focus on key markets where it believes its efforts can make the most positive impact and to better account for external factors outside of the company’s control. By prioritizing efforts in key packaging markets, continuing work to reduce its use of virgin plastic and improve the design of its packaging, PepsiCo plans to focus on investments that aim to improve the packaging lifecycle.”

Right here’s the kicker. “The company is also sunsetting its reuse target, while continuing various efforts on reuse as part of its goal around designing packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable.” Sunsetting is company converse for abandoning. In different phrases, that settlement with As You Sow is now not operative. Why? The corporate’s personal phrases inform the story.

“The revised goals on climate, packaging, agriculture and water also reflect PepsiCo’s understanding of where it can accelerate impact — striving for greater return on its investments — and where progress will take more time, based on the realities of key global enablers such as recycling and reuse infrastructure, electric grid modernization, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and cost-competitive vehicle availability, and varying and changing government approaches. (Emphasis added.) These refined goals reflect transparency about challenges, while reinforcing a commitment to rigorous progress tracking to pursue the company’s long-term sustainability vision.”

CleanTechnica readers will instantly decode the message contained on this assertion. The present administration is taking a sledgehammer to the tax credit contained within the Inflation Discount Act that will promote the use of electric vehicles within the firm”s distribution community and the charging infrastructure wanted to assist them. “Varying and changing government approaches” actually offers the sport away.

Elections have penalties. The present administration has despatched a powerful sign to the enterprise group that each one the “woke” nonsense about sustainability that has been a part of the dialog for the reason that Paris Local weather Accords of 2015 can now be safely ignored. But it surely’s greater than that. It has been made abundantly clear that firms that persist in selling such objectives might be punished.

As You Sow Speaks Out

We obtained an electronic mail this week from Ryon Harms at As You Sow regarding PepsiCo’s about face on decreasing its pledge to make use of extra reusable and refillable packaging and extra recycled supplies. These two commitments had been made by the corporate following the submitting and subsequent withdrawal of shareholder proposals by As You Sow in 2021 and 2022. The e-mail stated the corporate had deserted the reuse aim altogether and weakened the virgin plastics discount aim with out particularly stating why, citing imprecise “external factors” and “systemic barriers.”

“In the absence of a credible explanation, this appears to be an opportunistic move, in a deregulating political environment, to abandon the hard work necessary to seriously tackle growing plastic pollution through reusables,” stated Conrad MacKerron, senior vp of As You Sow. “Shareholders expect companies to keep their commitments regardless of which way the political winds are blowing. Politics eventually change direction and companies that abandon their goals can easily fall behind on crucial commitments aimed at stemming plastic pollution.”

“As You Sow is deeply disappointed in this unexpected action by PepsiCo,” added Kelly McBee, round financial system supervisor at As You Sow. “The move appears counterintuitive to the company’s previous leadership in tackling plastic pollution and its PEP+ program to operate within planetary boundaries.”

The groundbreaking examine in 2020 entitled Breaking the Plastic Wave concluded that recycling alone is inadequate to handle plastic air pollution. As a substitute, it have to be coupled with reductions in use, supplies redesign, and substitution by way of reusables. “PepsiCo’s decision to abandon reuse targets and scale back plastic reduction efforts calls into question whether the company is heeding the call to invest in a future of circular packaging — which conserves resources and reduces waste — or if it is instead embracing the wasteful status quo of take-make-waste,” the e-mail stated.

“Global governments are rapidly adopting policies holding corporations like PepsiCo financially accountable for packaging at its end-of-life, a policy known as extended producer responsibility (EPR.) In the U.S., seven producer responsibility laws for packaging have been enacted since 2021. These policies are designed to financially incentivize reusable and refillable packaging — making PepsiCo’s de-prioritization of these packaging formats increasingly out of step with evolving regulatory and market expectations. Furthermore, the forthcoming international adoption of a Global Plastics Treaty is expected to similarly emphasize plastic reduction and reusable alternatives, making it imperative that PepsiCo follow through on its goals,” the message from As You Sow defined.

As You Sow’s message identified the course change by PepsiCo adopted an analogous transfer by Coca-Cola six months in the past. In consequence, no portfolio-wide reuse aim is at the moment in impact amongst any of the 225 largest consumer-facing firms with enterprise operations in North America, in keeping with As You Sow’s analysis report Plastic Promises Scorecard. The absence of reuse objectives amongst main firms indicators a harmful retreat from round financial system ideas and threatens to derail company progress on plastic air pollution simply as momentum is constructing.

A Name To Motion

“We call on PepsiCo and its peer companies to uphold their responsibility to significantly reduce plastic pollution and contribute to the development of a circular economy for packaging–not only when it’s politically convenient, but especially when leadership is needed. Transformative change demands vision and resilience — not only when it’s politically convenient, but especially when leadership is needed. Transformative change demands vision and resilience,” Conrad MacKerron stated.

The world is drowning in plastic, however corporations like PepsiCo and Coca-Cola are centered on one factor solely — earnings. The US administration has absolved the company world of any requirement to be good company residents. In case you are a personal citizen and dump used motor oil within the woods, you face authorized penalties. However if you’re a big multi-national company, you might be excused from all accountability for the hurt your corporation does to the setting. The message is obvious: In case your actions will hurt the Earth, first be sure to are included. Then you may be free to proceed with impunity.

Featured picture: “Microplastic” by Oregon State College is licensed beneath CC BY-SA 2.0.