PURCHASE, N.Y., March 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) this week announced its intent to promote higher rates of beverage container recycling in the U.S., as one of a series of goals and commitments (www.pepsico.com/goalsandcommitments) it published spanning business performance, nutrition, environmental sustainability and the well-being of employees.

Specifically PepsiCo said it intends to create partnerships that promote the increase of U.S. beverage container recycling rates to 50 percent by 2018.

The commitment was developed in cooperation with Boston-based Walden Asset Management, a leader in socially responsible investment, and San Francisco-based As You Sow, a foundation which promotes corporate social responsibility through shareholder engagement.  

Walden Asset Management and As You Sow jointly offered the following statement in response to PepsiCo's commitment:  "We commend PepsiCo's public support of an industry-wide beverage container recovery goal, its support of an incentive-based recycling service, its commitment to leadership on use of recycled content packaging and its commitment to stakeholder dialogue."

In order to promote higher rates of beverage container recycling, PepsiCo intends to:

• Work with other U.S. industry leaders in support of programs and policies that effectively increase recycling.
• Develop innovative U.S. retail customer and consumer programs that support the recycling of beverage containers.
• Partner with its U.S. bottlers, communities, suppliers, governmental entities and non-governmental organizations in support of innovative efforts to encourage increased recycling.
• Help educate consumers on the environmental need to and efficiency of recycling.
• Continue to ensure its primary beverage packaging (aluminum, glass, PET) is easily recyclable in U.S. recycling systems
• Continue to be the industry leader on the use of recycled content in its primary beverage packaging to ensure a market for recycled beverage containers

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.

SOURCE PepsiCo