- Launch of PepsiCo’s long-term sustainability platform aims to reduce plastic waste in the UAE and region as part of its global vision for a more sustainable food system
- Live On launches under the auspices of His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment for the United Arab Emirates
- “Partnership is key” says PepsiCo as part of its vision to reduce the amount of plastic used, increase recycling and reinvent our plastics packaging
Dubai: Under the auspices of His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, PepsiCo on Thursday announced the launch of Live On - its newly created sustainability platform for the UAE and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
The sustainability platform was launched at the Youth Hub in Emirates Towers in Dubai with a unique Youth Circle event which was attended by His Excellency Dr. Thani and PepsiCo’s first ever Chief Sustainability Officer, Simon Lowden, to have an open discussion on how to support the UAE and the Middle East to reduce the impact of plastic waste on the environment. The Youth Circle initiative was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai to ignite dialogue among the nation’s youth community to shape innovative solutions for global challenges.
At the event, PepsiCo’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Simon Lowden outlined that the Live On platform allows the company to actively address its priorities for sustainable plastic use and driving a circular economy approach in the UAE and the Middle East. The platform will focus on four key pillars; building consumer education; government collaboration; investing in recycling infrastructure and access; as well as reducing the overall impact of plastic waste.
His Excellency Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi said: “Plastics today are the reality of our lives at home and in industry. While they cannot be completely eliminated, their indiscriminate use can certainly be controlled. The UAE strongly believes that managing plastic waste and steering the transition to a circular economy is everyone’s responsibility. In line with this priority, we have rolled out several nation-wide public private partnerships.
“We are pleased to witness initiatives such as the PepsiCo youth circle to launch Live On, a long-term platform that aims to support the UAE and the wider Middle East in reducing the impact of plastic waste on the environment. As a country with a majority youth population, young people are the driving force of all our sustainability initiatives – they are the ones who will face the consequences of all our actions today in the world of tomorrow.” He added: “I look forward to the positive outcomes this initiative will achieve through organic and grassroots-level activities to address sustainability and raise awareness about waste management in general, and plastic waste management in particular.”
Her Excellency Shamma bint Suhail Faris Al Mazrui, UAE Minister of State for Youth Affairs, Chairwoman of the Federal Youth Authority, highlighted the importance of the involvement of the nation’s youth in adopting sustainable environmental behavior.
“As talents of today and leaders of tomorrow, youth are the most important ingredient to the circular economy equation, and must play an essential role in working towards it. The launch of the Live On sustainability platform comes in line with the UAE’s commitment to promote innovations in the circular economy, and gives youth the opportunity to re-design the way our economy works.”
“We are delighted that the platform was launched during today’s Youth Circle,” H.E. Al Mazrui added. “This goes to show that Youth Circles are indeed fulfilling their intended purpose to inspire youth-centric dialogue covering multiple sectors, establishing sustainable engagement with young Emiratis to come up with innovative solutions for global challenges.”
The first act of the platform will be the launch of a new consumer awareness campaign in the UAE to encourage the population to recycle plastic. The Feel Good campaign is set to launch in November and run till the end of December 2019 with the aim to show the positive impact that recycling has on the environment, as well as the individual feel good factor that comes from protecting our planet. Further campaigns will run in 2020 with key partners in the region. PepsiCo will also be launching new labels on its AQUAFINA® water brand’s bottles that will be available in December 2019. The new clearly labeled recycling messages will encourage consumers to act responsibly towards plastic waste for AQUAFINA® and all plastic packaging.
The announcement of the PepsiCo Live On platform is an evolution of the global food and beverage company’s broader corporate vision to enable future business growth and prosperity for the communities where they work and live – one critical element of which is sustainable packaging. Globally, PepsiCo aims to reduce 35% of virgin plastic content across its beverage business by 2025 - which is the equivalent of eliminating 2.5 million metric tons of cumulative virgin plastic. PepsiCo is also committed to designing 100% of packaging to be recyclable, compostable or biodegradable; increasing recycled content in its plastics packaging to 25%; and investing so that recycling rates are increased in key markets all by 2025.
Simon Lowden, PepsiCo’s first ever Chief Sustainability Officer said: “Today’s launch is a proud moment for PepsiCo and another milestone in our alignment with the long-term vision of the UAE and the priorities of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment. We’re proud of the endorsement of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment for our new platform, and it is a testament to our commitment to the region that we are able to collaborate with key regional partners like the UAE government to support its strategic goals such as developing a sustainable circular economy.”
PepsiCo is building a legacy in good sustainable practice across its business. Earlier in 2019, PepsiCo launched the Sustainable from the Start program. This program aims to put sustainability at the heart of PepsiCo’s entire innovation pipeline and enables all teams involved in product development, from concept to launch, to evaluate the environmental impact of the choices they make through sustainability guidelines and lifecycle assessment tools embedded in the new product development process
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About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $64 billion in net revenue in 2018, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales. Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Convenient Foods and Beverages by Winning with Purpose.
"Winning with Purpose" reflects our ambition to win sustainably in the marketplace and embed purpose into all aspects of the business. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.
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