PepsiCo’s doubled-down reusable beverage pack pledge draws skepticism

06 Dec 2022 --- PepsiCo aims to double the percentage of reusable beverage packs – from 10% to 20% – by 2030 as part of PepsiCo Positive (pep+) strategy. The company’s new global packaging goal is aligned with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s (EMF) “Reuse – Rethinking Packaging” framework, under which PepsiCo will pursue four approaches to drive reusability.

The beverage giant intends to expand its SodaStream business at home and workplaces through SodaStream Professional. It will also build out its refillable plastic (PET) and glass bottle offerings in partnership with PepsiCo bottlers. Furthermore, PepsiCo plans to expand its fountain drinks business with reusable cups and accelerate growth in powders and concentrates.

“Fundamentally transforming the traditional beverage consumption model will require making reusable and refillable options accessible and convenient, at scale, for consumers – and that’s what PepsiCo aims to do,” Jim Andrew, chief sustainability officer at PepsiCo, says. 

“PepsiCo will accelerate our investment in disruptive innovation and advocate for policies that allow us to scale up reusable packaging options, platforms and programs so that we can offer consumers a wide variety of alternative ways to enjoy their favorite beverages while moving away from reliance on single-use packaging.”

PepsiCo brands, including Gatorade, Propel, Muscle Milk and Evolve, are offered as concentrated powders or tablets to allow consumers to customize the drink to their preferences in their containers.Raising doubts
Speaking to PackagingInsights, Piotr Barczak, senior policy officer for waste and regulation at the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), draws attention to PepsiCo’s commitment as a response to the increased demand by policies.

“To me, it still seems to be a rather low-ambition commitment – seven years is needed to shift the fast-moving consumer goods from 10% to a mere 20% of the market? This is not ambitious.” 

According to Barczak, increasing PepsiCo fountains does not necessarily translate to using reusable cups.

Jean-Pierre Schweitzer, deputy manager of circular economy at EEB, elaborates: “I share Piotr’s fear that many brands are creating refill models that still include single-use packaging – such as fountains in gas stations where cups are provided on the side.”

“I would be curious how much of [PepsiCo’s] reuse will be achieved through growing SodaStream and their refill models in a limited number of countries versus developing reuse in new segments and markets with innovative models,” Schweitzer continues.

Broken promises
As an EMF signatory, PepsiCo follows the Global Commitment of achieving complete reusable, recyclable, or compostable packaging by 2025. However, in its latest progress report, EMF spotlighted that PepsiCo was the second biggest contributor to plastic waste, riding behind Coca-Cola.PepsiCo plans to expand its fountain drinks business with reusable cups and accelerate growth in powders and concentrates.

The Global Commitment 2022 Progress Report also revealed that PepsiCo increased its virgin plastic use by 5% from 2020.

Meanwhile, concerning the new packaging goal set by PepsiCo, Sander Defruyt, EMF’s plastic initiative lead, says that the organization is aware that it cannot recycle its way out of the plastic pollution crisis.

“By avoiding single-use packaging waste in the first place, reuse business models are an important part of creating a circular economy,” Defruyt shares.

“Our latest Global Commitment report illustrated the lack of progress on reuse across the industry and highlighted a lack of ambition regarding reuse strategies. We welcome this significant step forward by PepsiCo, and we hope other global brands will follow suit and similarly set quantitative reuse targets helping to reduce their use of virgin plastics in packaging.”

Planet and people core of pep+
The company’s pep+ strategy is described as its guiding principle for operating with planetary boundaries. “PepsiCo Positive (pep+) is the future of our company,” says Ramon Laguarta, chairman and CEO. “A fundamental transformation of what we do and how we do it to create growth and shared value with sustainability and human capital at the center.” 

PepsiCo shares that it is changing ingredient sourcing to restore the earth, strengthen farming communities and build a circular and inclusive value chain. 

Despite the beverage retailer’s 2018 Sustainable Packaging Vision, under which it acquired SodaStream, and pledge to a circular economy for plastics by joining the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, it was named as one of the biggest plastic polluters of beaches across the globe for five consecutive years as per the 2022 Brand Audit by Break Free from Plastic.PepsiCo runs refillable and returnable glass and plastic programs in major markets, including Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Chile, Germany and the Philippines.

Most recently, PepsiCo joined the Closed Loop Partners NextGen Consortium, which works collaboratively with stakeholders across the value chain to design and test new models to enable the scale-up of reusable cups to support a reuse infrastructure alongside beverage fountains.

“The EU just proposed reuse targets for soft drinks of 10% by 2030 and 25% by 2040. These still need to be negotiated, so they are not yet the law, but clearly, Pepsi’s goals are more ambitious than the European targets,” Defruyt shares with us.

“However, as two critical points – we have not seen Pepsi and other FMCG brands deliver on past commitments; secondly, the size of Pepsi makes it easier to implement reuse at scale. So they really should be leading the way here.”

Schweitzer adds: “I think this doubling can be easily partially achieved by doing reuse mainly in HoReCa (the hotel and catering industry), so the change for individual purchases might not be seen, and it is very much needed there. I also wonder why the European market was not mentioned for the increase of reusables.”

“Overall, I recognize the move, but I see it as a response to the increased demand by PPWD and the direction of the global plastic treaty. A small step from [PepsiCo’s] side might affect complacency by policymakers. I remain not satisfied by this,” he concludes.

By Radhika Sikaria