PepsiCo doubles down on scaling reusable packaging options

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

The Purchase, New York-based company says the initiative is part of its strategic, end-to-end business transformation—called PepsiCo Positive (Pep+)—that puts sustainability and people at the center of how it will create growth and value.

PepsiCo says offering its beverages in reusable packaging and on new platforms that eliminate the need for single-use virgin plastics has been a key component of its Sustainable Packaging Vision since 2018, when it invested $3.2 billion to acquire SodaStream and expressed a commitment to a circular economy for plastics by joining the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment. The company says reuse is critical to meeting its goals to reduce virgin plastic per serving by 50 percent by 2030 and to become net zero by 2040. It adds that progress also will be driven by partnering with bottlers to increase the amount of recycled content used in packaging.

In alignment with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s “Reuse—Rethinking Packaging” framework, PepsiCo says it will pursue four approaches to achieve its new packaging goal, including expanding its SodaStream business, both at home and in workplaces through SodaStream Professional; building out its refillable plastic (polyethylene terephthalate, or PET) and glass bottle offerings in partnership with PepsiCo bottlers; growing its fountain drinks business with reusable cups; and accelerating growth in powders and concentrates.

PepsiCo says it has more than 80 markets around the world offering reusable packaging solutions, including:

• the widespread international availability of SodaStream and SodaStream Professional, and its continued growth, enabling consumers to reinvent how they consume some of the world’s most popular beverage brands and personalize their choices in reusable containers, potentially eliminating the need for more than 200 billion plastic bottles by 2030;
• refillable and returnable glass and plastic programs in major markets including Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Chile, Germany and the Philippines; and
• PepsiCo brands such as 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 own containers.

“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,” PepsiCo Chief Sustainability Officer Jim Andrew 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 says it will continue working with multiple partners to develop new infrastructure to support reuse and refill models. Most recently, the company says it joined the Closed Loop Partners NextGen Consortium, through which it will work collaboratively with stakeholders across the value chain to design and test new models to enable the scale up of reusable cups, a critical component of supporting a reuse infrastructure alongside beverage fountains.

“We know we cannot recycle our way out of this plastic pollution crisis,” Ellen MacArthur Foundation Plastic Initiative Lead Sander Defruyt says. “By avoiding single-use packaging waste in the first place, reuse business models are an important part of creating a circular economy. Our latest Global Commitment report illustrated the lack of progress on reuse across the industry and highlighted a lack of ambition when it comes to 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.”