PepsiCo has announced a global packaging goal that is intended to double the percentage of all its beverage servings delivered through reusable models from 10 to 20 percent by 2030. 

The decision is part of the company’s end-to-end business transformation called PepsiCo Positive (pep+) that the food and beverage giant is using to drive sustainability.

With a goal of reducing its virgin plastic per serving by 50 percent by 2030 and to become Net Zero by 2040, PepsiCo’s new packaging goal marks another company initiative with sustainability in mind.

How will it work?

Partnering with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s “Reuse – Rethinking Packaging” framework, PepsiCo has committed to pursuing four approaches to achieve its goal.

These include expanding its SodaStream Business (in homes and workplaces through SodaStream Professional), extending its refillable plastic (PET) and glass bottle offerings in partnership with PepsiCo bottlers, adding reusable cups to its fountain drinks business, and accelerating growth in powders and concentrates.

Commenting on the negative impacts of plastic on the world, Sander Defruyt, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Plastic Initiative Lead, said: “We know we cannot recycle our way out of this 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.”

“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.”

Reusable packaging around the globe

PepsiCo has said that it currently has sustainable packaging solutions in more than 80 markets around the world.

One of its innovations SodaStream offers consumers an alternative way to consume sparkling water but, with sustainability in mind, PepsiCo claims that it potentially eliminates the need for more than 200 billion plastic bottles by 2030.

What’s more, following the 2022 launch of SodaStream Professional in France, the company has said that it is planning to scale its footprint of commercial stations throughout 2023.

Additionally, the food and beverage manufacturer has created refillable and returnable glass and plastic programs in global markets including Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Chile, Germany and the Philippines. 

Summarising the company’s sustainable aims, Katharina Stenholm, Chief Sustainability Officer at PepsiCo Europe, said: “Fundamentally transforming the traditional beverage consumption model will require making reusable and refillable options accessible and convenient, at scale, for European consumers  and that’s what we aim to do.”