PURCHASE, N.Y., Sept. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- PepsiCo Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) today published its 2018 Sustainability Report, outlining the company's progress against its sustainability goals and announcing a new purpose behind its sustainability agenda: to help build a more sustainable food system.

"As a global food and beverage leader whose products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day and that operates an agricultural supply chain touching 60 nations, we undoubtedly have a role to play in addressing the challenges of the modern food system, from climate change and resource scarcity, to packaging waste and income inequality," said Ramon Laguarta, PepsiCo's CEO and Chairman. "As we strive to use our global scale for good, we are deeply committed to accelerating progress in our sustainability agenda."

PepsiCo's effort to help build a more sustainable food system represents a key element of the company's broader vision of accelerated, sustainable growth known as Winning with Purpose. As part of Winning with Purpose, PepsiCo is striving to be a better company by further integrating purpose into the core of its business and brands and doing even more for people and the planet.

PepsiCo's 2018 Sustainability Report highlights progress and goals in six priority areas where the company believes it can best make a contribution to building a more sustainable food system:

• Agriculture: By working to source ingredients through more sustainable and resilient agriculture, PepsiCo is raising standards for efficient use of resources, environmental consciousness and worker rights on farms around the world. By the end of 2018, more than half of PepsiCo's direct farmer-sourced agricultural raw materials, such as potatoes, whole corn, oats and oranges, were verified as sustainably sourced through its Sustainable Farming Program. The company continues working toward its target to reach 100% by the end of 2020. Already, 100% of the chips in the North American Frito-Lay portfolio, including Lay's® and Ruffles®, were made from sustainably sourced North American potatoes.

• Water: Working to be an even more responsible steward of water across its value chain, PepsiCo is focused on improving water-use efficiency in high water-risk farming and manufacturing operations and on replenishing 100% of the water it consumes in manufacturing in high water-risk areas by 2025. The company focuses on using its scale and expertise to advocate for policies and practices that protect local watersheds. Additionally, in 2018, the PepsiCo Foundation helped provide safe water access to over 6 million people—boosting the total number of beneficiaries to 22 million since 2006.

• Packaging: PepsiCo recently announced a new target to reduce 35% of virgin plastic content across its beverage portfolio by 2025. The company also aims to use 25% recycled content in its plastic packaging by 2025 and 50% recycled content in its plastic bottles in the European Union by 2030. Beginning next year, LIFEWTR® will be packaged in 100% recycled plastic bottles in the U.S. and bubly™ will be packaged exclusively in aluminium. Additionally, by continuing to advance its "Beyond the Bottle" strategy, most notably through its SodaStream® business, the company estimates 67 billion single-use plastic bottles will be avoided through 2025.

• Products: PepsiCo continues to improve the choices it offers consumers by reducing added sugars, sodium and saturated fat, and expanding its product portfolio with new innovations and acquisitions based on nutritious ingredients. In the U.S. alone, PepsiCo has nearly 500 beverage choices with 100 Calories or less per 12 oz. serving, and in 2018 and early 2019 added brands like Bare Snacks® and Cytosport (makers of Muscle Milk© and EVOLVE® Protein) to its portfolio.

• Climate: PepsiCo has set a goal to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions across its value chain by 20% by 2030, from a 2015 baseline. In 2018, PepsiCo reduced Scope 3 emissions (outside the company's direct operations) by approximately 2.2 million metric tons, in addition to decreasing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 6.4% within its direct operations. From promoting climate-friendly agricultural practices and expanding its fleet of low-carbon vehicles, to expanding its use of renewable energy in its manufacturing operations, PepsiCo is driving down emissions throughout its value chain to mitigate the impact of climate change.

• People: As part of its ongoing commitment to increase the earnings potential of women around the world, PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation have invested $27.3 million since 2016 to support initiatives that benefit women in communities where it operates. Women currently comprise 40 percent of PepsiCo managers globally.

Laguarta continued: "I'm proud of our significant progress and the combined efforts of our team, but these efforts are only the beginning—we still have work to do. Advancing sustainability and being a more purposeful company will play an essential role in PepsiCo's future. I firmly believe that business leadership in the 21^st century must include a responsibility to our planet, our communities and future generations."

This year's Report is complemented by a Performance Metrics Sheet, which briefly outlines PepsiCo's year-over-year progress against its sustainability goals. More detailed information about the company's policies and performance related to specific key issues can be found on the ESG Topics section of its website.

Visual assets can be downloaded by visiting https://www.pepsico.com/news/media-resources/media-downloads.

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 $64 billion in net revenue in 2018, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Convenient Foods and Beverages by Winning with Purpose. "Winning with Purpose" reflects our ambition to win sustainably in the marketplace and embed purpose into all aspects of the business. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

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 generally 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 changes in demand for PepsiCo's products, as a result of changes in consumer preferences or otherwise; changes in laws related to the use or disposal of plastics or other packaging of PepsiCo's products; changes in, or failure to comply with, applicable laws and regulations; imposition or proposed imposition of new or increased taxes aimed at PepsiCo's products; imposition of labeling or warning requirements on PepsiCo's products; PepsiCo's ability to compete effectively; political conditions, civil unrest or other developments and risks in the markets where PepsiCo's products are made, manufactured, distributed or sold; the ability to protect information systems against, or effectively respond to, a cybersecurity incident or other disruption; increased costs, disruption of supply or shortages of raw materials and other supplies; business disruptions; damage to PepsiCo's reputation or brand image; loss of, or a significant reduction in sales to, any key customer; disruption to the retail landscape, including rapid growth in hard discounters and the e-commerce channel; climate change or water scarcity, or legal, regulatory or market measures to address climate change or water scarcity; and other factors that may adversely affect the price of PepsiCo's publicly traded securities and financial performance. 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.

Media Contact: Nicole Tronolone, nicole.tronolone@pepsico.com

SOURCE PepsiCo, Inc.