Sustainable Biz Magazine - Magazine - Page 14
PepsiCo and Walmart aim to support
regenerative agriculture across more
more than 2 million acres of farmland
P
epsiCo and Walmart have 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 year. Commenting
on the voluntary adoption of regenerative
agriculture practices, Jeff Huffman, owner
and 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 fertiliser 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
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, soybeans 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, recognises the diversity of agriculture
and that one size does not fit all.
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“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”.
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.”
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 netzero 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
S USTAI N AB L E B I Z MAGAZINE
NOVEMBER 2023
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 effort is a key example of how Walmart
is prioritising 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.