PepsiCo revises reusable packaging commitments, faces backlash

USA – PepsiCo has announced a major shift in its packaging strategy, stepping back from its previously stated goal of delivering 20% of all beverage servings through reusable models by 2030.

Instead, the company says it will now focus on key markets where it believes its packaging initiatives can generate the greatest impact. The revised approach also aims to account more realistically for external variables outside the company’s control.

As part of this pivot, PepsiCo is also discontinuing its target to reduce the use of virgin plastic from nonrenewable sources on a per-serving basis.

Several other goals related to plastic packaging use and design are being scaled back as well. The company has acknowledged that progress on its reusable packaging ambitions has stalled, with the share of packaging in reusable formats stuck at 10% since the initial announcement in 2022.

PepsiCo’s move follows a similar decision by Coca-Cola in December 2024, when it also walked back its commitments on reusable packaging and virgin plastic reduction.

While PepsiCo is phasing out specific reuse targets, it says it remains committed to making its packaging recyclable, compostable, or reusable.

However, the company notes that meeting these goals will require significant investments, technological innovation, and multi-sector collaboration.

Regulatory challenges also complicate these efforts. For example, restrictions on the use of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) in food and beverage packaging persist in some countries—most notably in China, although some recent progress has been made in India.

In a recent submission to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, PepsiCo disclosed an increase in its use of virgin plastic.

The volume rose from 2.18 million tonnes in 2020 to 2.3 million tonnes in 2023, raising concerns about the company’s environmental impact.

Following PepsiCo’s announcement, international advocacy group Oceana issued a critical response.

Matt Littlejohn, the organization’s senior vice-president for strategic initiatives, said, “By killing its reuse goal, and other goals that would actually reduce plastic packaging, Pepsi is hurting our oceans and the environment.

“Pepsi is one of the largest polluters in the world according to the Break Free from Plastic Brand Audit and has a responsibility to address its plastic problem.

“The best way for Pepsi to reduce plastic pollution is not by abandoning goals but by dramatically increasing the use of refillable bottles – which can be used up to 50 times if made of glass.”

Littlejohn further stressed the potential impact of even modest progress, “Just a 10% increase in reusable beverage packaging by 2030 can eliminate the need for over one trillion single-use plastic bottles and cups, and could prevent 153 billion of these containers from entering the world’s oceans and waterways.”

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