PEP PepsiCo Inc

   By Micah Maidenberg 
 

PepsiCo Inc. said its fleet servicing a Frito-Lay plant in California is producing roughly half as much greenhouse gases after the company's investments in equipment powered by batteries or natural gas.

The beverage and snacks giant said it has almost 60 tractors, box trucks, yard trucks or forklifts that use those propulsion systems at the factory in Modesto, with another 15 electric tractors expected to be on site this year.

Over the past year, the fleet for the Modesto factory reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 53%, amid the shift to a cleaner fleet, PepsiCo said. It lowered its diesel fuel usage by 78%, the company added.

In the U.S., transportation accounted for one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, making cars, trucks, planes and other vehicles collectively the largest source of emissions that cause global warming, according to Rhodium Group, a researcher with focus on climate issues.

Transportation emissions from freight vehicles rose 5% between 2005 and 2019, Rhodium has said.

Some investors have been pushing companies to spell out how they plan to cut down emissions within their operations.

"Frito-Lay and PepsiCo are dedicated to reducing our environmental impact," Steve Hanson, senior director, fleet operations, engineering and sustainability for Frito-Lay, said in a statement.

PepsiCo also said it has converted the power source for the Modesto factory to 100% renewable energy for direct operations at the site. It achieved that change through on-site generation and through what it called renewable electricity certificates.

Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 25, 2021 12:21 ET (16:21 GMT)

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