PURCHASE, N.Y., Sept. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) today announced that it has been recognized by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) North America for the eighth consecutive year, and by the DJSI World for the seventh consecutive year.  Inclusion in the DJSI recognizes the company's leadership and continued innovation in sustainable business practices through Performance with Purpose, PepsiCo's goal to provide sustained value.  The company also announced the release of its 2011/2012 Corporate Sustainability Report and its first-ever stand-alone Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Report.   

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"Performance with Purpose fuels our growth and allows us to stay ahead of trends shaping our industry and the world in which we operate," said Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo.  "We are steadfastly dedicated to building a profitable and sustainable 21st century corporation — one that is a good investment for our shareholders, a good environment for our employees, a good citizen in our communities and a good steward of our planet's resources."

The DJSI is comprised of companies across all industries that outperform their peers in numerous sustainability metrics, including economic, environmental and social criteria such as corporate governance, risk management, energy efficiency, and occupational health and safety. The DJSI analysis of PepsiCo's performance included perfect scores in the areas of Code of Conduct/Compliance, Risk & Crisis Management, Packaging and Raw Material Sourcing, evidencing the company's strengths in these important areas. 

PepsiCo's 2011/2012 Corporate Sustainability Report presents PepsiCo's Performance with Purpose goals and provides data and examples on how the company is progressing on those goals in Human, Environment and Talent Sustainability. The report also covers PepsiCo's global citizenship contributions to the communities around the world in which the company does business. 

The companion GRI Report offers greater detail on PepsiCo sustainability achievements and challenges during 2011/2012, and responds to GRI indicators in order to meet the standard-setting organization's Level B requirements. 

The reports can be accessed online at https://www.pepsico.com/Purpose/Performance-with-Purpose/Sustainability-Reporting

PepsiCo was one of the first contemporary companies to recognize the important interdependence between corporations and society, and the newly-released reports highlight the ways in which the company is delivering sustained value for multiple stakeholders.   Highlights of the reports include:

• PepsiCo continues to expand its product portfolio of healthier, great-tasting and convenient foods and beverages. For example, in the U.S., low- or zero-calorie beverages, active hydration offerings and juices collectively accounted for 49 percent of the company's 2012 beverage volume.  In 2012, PepsiCo's nutrition business represented 20 percent of the company's net revenue.
• The company's environmental sustainability agenda is well integrated into the business and PepsiCo has reached two key environmental goals ahead of schedule. The company achieved its goal to improve global water-use efficiency by 20 percent per unit of production, compared to a 2006 baseline, four years ahead of schedule. These improvements helped PepsiCo save nearly 14 billion liters of water in direct operations in 2012, which led to savings of more than $15 million in water costs. And, over the last five years, the company has reduced the packaging weight of its products by more than 350 million pounds in all manufacturing, including acquisitions – exceeding its goal by more than 20 percent.
• By the end of 2012, PepsiCo had completed 36 pilot programs for its new Sustainable Farming Initiative, covering 14 countries and a variety of crops.
• PepsiCo works to increase the number of women leaders within the company through recruiting and development initiatives around the world. In 2012, women accounted for 31 percent of U.S. based executives, and in the Asia-Pacific region the company increased the percentage of women executives to more than 40 percent.
• By focusing on a culture of safety within PepsiCo, the company decreased its lost-time injury rate by 35 percent from 2011-2012.
• In 2012, through its philanthropic arm the PepsiCo Foundation, PepsiCo met its target to partner to provide access to safe water to 3 million people in developing countries by the end of 2015 three years ahead of schedule. Building on that success, the company announced a new goal to provide access to safe water to an additional 3 million people over the next 3 years through continued partnerships with water organizations.

Additional information about PepsiCo's sustainability initiatives is available on the company's website at http://www.pepsico.com/purpose.

About PepsiCo
PepsiCo is a global food and beverage leader with net revenues of more than $65 billion and a product portfolio that includes 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in annual retail sales. Our main businesses - Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola - make hundreds of enjoyable foods and beverages that are loved throughout the world. PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth by investing in a healthier future for people and our planet, which we believe also means a more successful future for PepsiCo. We call this commitment Performance with Purpose: PepsiCo's promise to provide a wide range of foods and beverages from treats to healthy eats; to find innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment by conserving energy and water and reducing packaging volume; to provide a great workplace for our associates; and to respect, support and invest in the local communities where we operate. 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. Terminology such as "believe," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "project," "anticipate," "will" or similar statements or variations of such terms are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such terms. Forward-looking statements 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; changes in the legal and regulatory environment; PepsiCo's ability to compete effectively; PepsiCo's ability to grow its business in emerging and developing markets or unstable political conditions, civil unrest or other developments and risks in the countries where PepsiCo operates; unfavorable economic conditions in the countries in which PepsiCo operates; increased costs, disruption of supply or shortages of raw materials and other supplies; failure to realize anticipated benefits from our productivity plan or global operating model; disruption of PepsiCo's supply chain; damage to PepsiCo's reputation; failure to successfully complete or integrate acquisitions and joint ventures into PepsiCo's existing operations; PepsiCo's ability to hire or retain key employees or a highly skilled and diverse workforce; trade consolidation or the loss of any key customer; any downgrade of our credit ratings; PepsiCo's ability to build and sustain proper information technology infrastructure, successfully implement its ongoing business transformation initiative or outsource certain functions effectively; fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; climate change, or legal, regulatory or market measures to address climate change; failure to successfully renew collective bargaining agreements or strikes or work stoppages; any infringement of or challenge to PepsiCo's intellectual property rights; and potential liabilities and costs from litigation or legal proceedings.

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