Decarbonization in global companies, the guiding axis in the face of the climate crisis

Global companies have adopted sustainability as a guiding axis in the face of climate crisis, Therefore, they are increasingly using more tools to decarbonize their operations and value chain.

As part of this goal, since 2021, PepsiCo has implemented PepsiCo Positive (pep+), a strategic transformation that seeks to achieve zero emissions by 2040, a decade earlier than planned in the Paris Agreement.

“Taking action to address climate change is a business imperative for PepsiCo, and it’s also the right thing to do for the planet”PepsiCo’s director of sustainability, Jim Andrew, emphasized in a statement.

Andrew explained that this strategy focuses on three areas: agriculture, packaging, transportation and distribution.

Greenhouse gas reduction

In this sense, the global company of American origin asserted that it has managed to reduce up to 27% the emission of greenhouse gases in its transportation and manufacturing operations.

For example, in Latin America, PepsiCo uses electricity 100% renewable, which represents a saving of more than 180,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

In addition, it has installed photovoltaic panels in 14 of its facilities in this region, producing more than 9 gigawatt-hours per year, corresponding to 5% of the total electricity consumed at these sites.

In this effort, PepsiCo has also installed almost 1,000 solar panels at its Suyana plant in Ecuador, which will reduce up to 24% the consumption of electrical energy, through the investment of just over half a million dollars.

Energy efficiency

The company has added energy efficiency as another factor of environmental responsibility through the use of residual gases from its operations in Mexico and Guatemala, generating savings of 5% of total energy consumption and 2% of electricity in 11 plants.

It also promotes the use of biofuels, converting waste into energy; has launched biogas generation systems from organic waste from manufacturing operations, such as potato or banana peels and starch, among others.

Teleplanet Project

Added to these actions is the implementation of Teleplaneta, a digitalization project in 12 plants in the Latin American region that allows PepsiCo to guarantee the conservation of natural resources such as water, electricity, fuel, compressed air and steam.

Andrew also highlighted that the fleet of PepsiCo, a company with which EFE has a content dissemination agreement, has 900 electric vehicles, improving energy efficiency and applying renewable energy solutions in its operations.