PURCHASE, N.Y. and
BENTONVILLE, Ark.,
July 26,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- PepsiCo and Walmart today
announced a 7-year collaboration to pursue $120 million worth of investments focused on
supporting U.S. and Canadian farmers in their pursuit to improve
soil health and water quality. By establishing and scaling
financial, agronomic and social programs, it aims to enable and
accelerate the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices on
more than 2 million acres of farmland and deliver approximately 4
million metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions and
removals by 2030 – roughly equivalent to the amount of electricity
needed to power 778,300 homes for one year1.
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Commenting on the voluntary adoption of regenerative agriculture
practices, Jeff Huffman, Owner &
Operator of Island Farms LLC in Maxwell,
Neb., said, "From my perspective, embracing regenerative
agriculture is essential. It's good for farmers, not only because
it's beneficial to the environment and our food quality, but also
for the profitability of our businesses. If you use less fertilizer
and you grow a bigger crop, or if you use less water and can still
grow the same size of crop, it strengthens your farm in a way that
benefits the bottom line and our environment for generations to
come."
PepsiCo's and Walmart's businesses are dependent on farmers to
grow ingredients that are used to make the delicious products that
consumers enjoy every day. With a supply chain for the two
companies that stretches across North
America and involves a large volume of critical crops –
including potatoes, oats, corn, wheat, soybean and rice –
sustainability will look different from commodity to commodity,
region to region, and even farm to farm. The collaboration between
PepsiCo and Walmart offers a voluntary, flexible approach to
regenerative agriculture that gives farmers a seat at the table,
recognizes the diversity of agriculture and that one size does not
fit all.
"Successful sustainability starts and ends with trust. At
PepsiCo, we work very hard to earn the trust of the farmer so they
understand that we are investing in their legacy and they can hand
their farm down to the next generation," said Jim Andrew, Chief Sustainability Officer,
PepsiCo. "Farmers know their business better than anyone else, and
what we hear from them is that for regenerative agriculture to make
business sense, three things need to happen. They need economic
support, social and cultural support, and agronomic support. This
strategic collaboration with Walmart will advance our shared goal
to have farmers' backs as they transform farming in a way that
benefits the planet and people."
"At Walmart, our sustainability strategy is built to make the
everyday choice the sustainable choice for our customers. This
collaboration with PepsiCo is a great example of how we are
prioritizing the expansion of regenerative agricultural practices
among farmers across North America
so that we can continue to make quality products affordable and
accessible for customers. This collaboration aims to help elevate
farmer livelihoods, engage them on how to more sustainably manage
soil health, increase yields and create a model that others can
mimic across other product categories, including encouraging
additional investments in regenerative agriculture by other
brands," said Jane Ewing, Senior
Vice President for sustainability at Walmart.
PepsiCo and Walmart have a shared focus on supporting farming
communities while improving soil and water health, as well as
lowering carbon emissions. As the largest convenient food and
beverage company in North America, a resilient food system is
essential to PepsiCo's business and its ability to meet its
ambitious pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) goals, which include
driving the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices across 7
million acres by 2030 – an area approximately the size of PepsiCo's
agricultural footprint – and reducing absolute GHG emissions by
more than 40% across its entire value chain by 2030 (against a 2015
baseline) while striving toward net-zero emissions by 2040.
"This effort is a new model for PepsiCo, marking our first,
large-scale strategic collaboration focused on sustainable
agriculture with a retail partner," said Steven Williams,
Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo Foods North America. "Farmers are
critical to our business, and many of the brands our consumers know
and love rely on ingredients that we source straight from the farm.
By joining forces with Walmart, we'll be empowering farmers through
education, upfront investment in outcomes, peer coaching, and
cost-sharing – and hopefully inspiring others to join us."
This collaboration is a key example of how Walmart is
prioritizing purposeful collaborations to accelerate the adoption
of regenerative practices in line with its goal to protect, restore
or more sustainably manage 50 million acres of land and 1 million
square miles of ocean by 2030 along with the Walmart
Foundation.
For more information about pep+, please click here.
For more information about Walmart's sustainability efforts,
please click here.
Press Contacts:
PepsiCoMediaRelations@pepsico.com
aman.singh1@walmart.com
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion
times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the
world. PepsiCo generated more than $86 billion in net
revenue in 2022, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient
foods portfolio that includes Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade,
Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo's product
portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages,
including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail
sales.
Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in
Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with pep+ (PepsiCo
Positive). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that
puts sustainability and human capital at the center of how we will
create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries
and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more
information, visit www.pepsico.com, and follow
on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn
@PepsiCo.
PepsiCo Cautionary Statement
Statements in this
release that are "forward-looking statements" are based on
currently available information, operating plans and projections
about future events and trends. Terminology such as "aim,"
"anticipate," "believe," "drive," "estimate," "expect," "expressed
confidence," "forecast," "future," "goal," "guidance," "intend,"
"may," "objective," "outlook," "plan," "position," "potential,"
"project," "seek," "should," "strategy," "target," "will" or
similar statements or variations of such words and other similar
expressions 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 PepsiCo's actual results to differ
materially from those predicted in such forward-looking statements.
Such risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: the
risks associated with the deadly conflict in Ukraine; damage to PepsiCo's reputation or
brand image; water scarcity; disruption of PepsiCo's manufacturing
operations or supply chain, including increased commodity,
packaging, transportation, labor and other input costs; climate
change or measures to address climate change; changes in laws and
regulations related to the use or disposal of plastics or other
packaging materials; failure to comply with applicable laws and
regulations; and potential liabilities and costs from litigation,
claims, legal or regulatory proceedings, inquiries or
investigations. 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 Securities and Exchange Commission, 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. We undertake no obligation to update any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
About Walmart
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is a people-led, tech-powered omnichannel
retailer helping people save money and live better - anytime and
anywhere - in stores, online, and through their mobile devices.
Each week, approximately 240 million customers and members visit
more than 10,500 stores and numerous eCommerce websites in 20
countries. With fiscal year 2023 revenue of $611 billion, Walmart employs approximately 2.1
million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in
sustainability, corporate philanthropy, and employment opportunity.
Additional information about Walmart can be found by
visiting corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook
at facebook.com/walmart, on Twitter
at twitter.com/walmart, and on LinkedIn
at linkedin.com/company/walmart.
1 https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator#results
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SOURCE PepsiCo, Inc.; Walmart Inc.