As part of its pep+ sustainability campaign, food and beverage giant PepsiCo announced on Thursday its intention to progressively roll out paper-based packaging solutions to replace the company’s reliance on plastic rings across its beverage portfolio.
The paperboard packaging, first available on 6-packs, is made from recycled materials and is itself recyclable, reducing the company’s reliance on non-recyclable plastic rings. The new paper-based designs will begin to show up throughout the U.S. in a “phased regional approach” similar to a process already begun in the beverage company’s Canadian operations. The company reported that the innovation would be instituted through its Pepsi, Pepsi Zero, MTN DEW, Starry and Gatorade brands among others.
Launched in September 2021, PespiCo’s pep+ initiative (PepsiCo Positive) aims to make the food and drink maker’s operations more sustainable and achieve net-zero emissions by 2040. Under the pep+ pillars of “Positive Value Chain,” PepsiCo intends to “improve packaging sustainability including reducing virgin plastic per serving by 50%” by 2030.
In the company’s 2022 annual report, PepsiCo set a new goal for “20% of beverage servings would be delivered through reusable models by 2030” as it furthered its goals of reducing unsustainable packaging systems in its value chain.
The company conceded during the release of its 2022 ESG Report in June, that although progress had been made in nutrition, agriculture, social (people and communities), water-use efficiency and safe water access, reducing emissions and its packaging supply chain have been slower to transform into more sustainable models.
PepsiCo’s move is following consumer demand for more sustainable packaging solutions in large food and beverage brands. Coors Light announced in March 2022 it was ditching the plastic, six-pack rings in favor of a paper solution with hopes of removing the plastic rings from its supply chain by the end of 2025.
Coca-Cola reports that 90% of its packaging is currently recyclable with a goal to hit 100% by 2025. Coke’s bottlers have been transitioning to a paperboard holder for can multipacks in Europe. In the U.S., Liberty Coca-Cola adopted the KeelClip paper packaging system at its Elmsford, New York facility last summer. The company has also been experimenting with 100% plant-based bottles for nearly two years.
How these new packaging initiatives affect the bottom line of beverage companies is currently unknown. Yet, 82% of respondents in a recent survey said they would be willing to pay more for sustainable packaging, according to Trivium Packacking’s 2023 Buying Green Report.