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Sunbites Sustainability Actions

NEXT GENERATION AGRICULTURE

Over the next 30 years, global demand for agricultural products will grow by as much as 50 percent. Yet, already, agriculture accounts for around 70 percent of the world’s fresh water consumption and about a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. It also contributes to deforestation, biodiversity loss, and land and water pollution. While farming drives rural development, some agricultural regions are also impacted by poverty, inequality and human rights abuses. Agriculture is the foundation of the food system and the root of PepsiCo’s business. To make our foods and beverages, we use more than 25 crops sourced across 60 countries, and support over a hundred thousand jobs in and throughout our agricultural supply chain. This scale and reach means the standards and practices that we employ and promote can influence the environmental, social and economic impacts of agriculture around the world. Our Next Generation Agriculture strategy aims to drive progress in making agriculture more resilient, intelligent and inclusive. In Australia and New Zealand we partner with our potato growers and suppliers to support sustainable agriculture by identifying and sharing best practices and investing in new technologies.

POSITIVE WATER IMPACT

Water is fundamental to our food system and to PepsiCo’s business. It nourishes the crops used to make our products, is the main ingredient in many of our beverages and an integral component of our manufacturing operations. But in some regions water is scarce, and climate change is worsening pressures on water resources around the globe. Estimates indicate that by 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population will live in water-stressed regions. PepsiCo’s positive water impact strategy focuses on improving water stewardship across our business and in regions where we operate. Our ultimate goal is to support long-term, sustainable water security for all users, especially in high water-risk areas. As well as taking action in our own value chain, we aim to use our expertise and influence to advocate for the local policies and practices that can protect and replenish watersheds. In Australia and New Zealand we have reduced water consumption at our manufacturing sites by more than 60% since 2006.

CIRCULAR FUTURE FOR PACKAGING

In an efficient food system, packaging helps make safe, high-quality products accessible to all, extending shelf life and helping to limit food waste. But, for it to have a role in a more sustainable food system, we must eliminate packaging waste. In 2018, plastic represented just under half of the total packaging material PepsiCo used, with aluminium, glass and fibre making up most of the balance. In that year, we used 2.3 million metric tonnes of plastic to package products throughout our food and beverage portfolio. While plastic offers a highly effective, lightweight packaging material, producing petroleum-based plastic is a carbon-intensive process and, globally, only 14 percent of what is used is collected for recycling. The rest becomes waste. Where it is disposed of irresponsibly or where waste management is ineffective, it litters our communities and pollutes our oceans. We have set an ambitious target to reduce 35 percent of virgin plastic use across our beverage portfolio by 2025. Progress will be driven by the increased use of recycled content and alternative packaging materials. Across PepsiCo’s business and our brands, we’ve made it a business imperative to help build a circular future for packaging and a world where plastics need never become waste. To help build a circular economy for soft plastics, PepsiCo Australia has partnered with REDcycle to encourage consumers to recycle their chip packets. REDcycle's processing partner, Replas, then converts soft plastics into a range of sturdy products – from fitness circuits, outdoor furniture, bollards and signage. In 2020, we launched a program called ‘Greening the Green’, which consists of a 12-week program that will see Clean Up Australia, PepsiCo and REDcycle (with support from Replas) partner with 110 local sporting facilities across the country. The program has been designed to educate and change behaviours about waste management. Once the 12-week program is complete the sporting facilities receive equipment made by the recycled materials, demonstrating to Australians that what they put in the soft-plastics bin can be transformed into items the community can use. We are also signatories to the Australian Packaging Covenant. This initiative provides added tools and new ideas to further our progress in Environmental Sustainability.

CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION

The world faces worsening climate change. 2018 was the fourth warmest year on record, beaten only by 2015, 2016 and 2017. The rapid warming of our planet is likely to worsen risk factors in our global food system, from extreme weather and water scarcity, to soil quality loss and disruption to the political, economic and social systems that underpin how we produce and distribute food. The global food system is responsible for around 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. We believe that it can become more carbon-efficient and resilient and also play a significant role in regenerating the health of our climate through carbon sequestration. In Australia and New Zealand we have: Recycled more than 96% of our waste production. Reduced energy consumption across our sites by 23% per kg produced since 2006. Installed solar panels at our Regency Park manufacturing site with plans to install in our Tingalpa site in 2020.

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