PepsiCo and Walmart partner to support regenerative agriculture

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PepsiCo and Walmart partner to support regenerative agriculture

3 Aug 2023

Evan Bail

Evan Bail is a is a multimedia journalist from Overland Park, KS. Her passion for writing and media was developed at a young age through film and literature. She graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism. In her free time, you can find her playing tennis, spending time with her family or walking her dog at the dog park.

PURCHASE, NY and BENTONVILLE, AR — PepsiCo and Walmart have revealed a seven-year collaboration to pursue $120 million worth of investments to support US and Canadian farmers’ work to improve soil health and water quality.

“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, CEO of PepsiCo 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.”

Dependence on farmers is crucial for PepsiCo and Walmart to ensure product selection for their consumers. The supply chains for both companies stretch across North America and include a large volume of crops such as potatoes, oats, corn, wheat, soybeans and rice. This collaboration will offer a voluntary, flexible approach to regenerative agriculture that will recognize the diversity of agriculture.

“From my perspective, embracing regenerative agriculture is essential,” said Jeff Huffman, owner and operator of Island Farms LLC. 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 fertilizer 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.”

With a shared focus on supporting farming communities, the companies aim to enable the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices on more than 2 million acres of farmland and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 4 million metric tons by 2030.

“Successful sustainability starts and ends with trust,” said Jim Andrew, chief sustainability officer of PepsiCo. “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’s pep+ goals include raising the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices across seven million acres by 2030 and reducing GHG emissions by over 40% across its entire value chain by 2030 (against a 2015 baseline) with a goal of net-zero emissions by 2040.

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