“PepsiCo’s integrated sustainability strategy is built on three important pillars: the value chain, agriculture, and the consumer.

When we talk about sustainability, we look at every aspect — starting from the research and development stage of our products and how we operate, all the way to the actions we take at the consumer level.

Over the past years, we’ve invested in photovoltaic panels, with an installed capacity of approximately 2.5 MW, which covers around 10% of our energy consumption. This has helped us reduce our carbon footprint by 1,000 tons of GHG emissions annually,” said Emilian Dinică, Supply Chain Director, PepsiCo East Balkans, during the Sustainability in Business Forum organized by The Diplomat-Bucharest and Sustainability Today.

Key statements:

• “A few years ago, we started an accelerated automation plan that has had a positive sustainability impact. One of the best examples I can give is the automated warehouse built at our Popesti Leordeni factory, which helped us reduce 9,000 transport trips annually. This has translated into a significant GHG reduction in Romania.”
• “Another action we took was to transform our fleet from traditional fuel to hybrid and electric vehicles. Currently, 90% of our fleet is hybrid and electric, leading to a 54% reduction in fleet emissions.”
• “In agriculture, we are building long-term partnerships. We are one of the largest consumers of potatoes in Romania, so our partners must grow with us. Together with Grup Serban, we selected a plot to start a regenerative agriculture project. This is a pilot project that will be replicated across other crops.”
• “All the technologies and automation solutions we invest in have a positive impact on sustainability. That automated warehouse operates like a black box — there are no people inside. As a result, the carbon footprint per stored pallet is five times lower than in a traditional warehouse.
• “We use advanced digitalization systems to optimize truck loading capacity and transport routes, minimizing CO₂ emissions. We also use intelligent systems to evaluate and optimize our sourcing network.”
• “Consumers want products that are better for them and better for the environment, and we need to deliver these without additional costs for them.”