We wanted to share an update from As You Sow’s progressive work on Plastic Pollution. As You Sow, a partner organization of Blue Summit, focuses on shareholder advocacy. Their mission is getting the largest corporations to make meaningful changes. They do this by partnering with various mutual funds, who have substantial shares in a company, and being authorized to speak on their behalf. The original story can be seen on their website here.
As part of a previous agreement with As You Sow, PepsiCo unveiled a global packaging goal intended to double it’s beverage servings delivered through reusable models by 2030.
The pledge was made in response to a shareholder proposal filed by As You Sow, asking the company to report on actions it could take to rapidly reduce dependence on single-use plastic packaging, with a suggested focus on setting stronger refillables goals. In March, the company agreed to set a goal by the end of 2022 for a percentage of beverages to be delivered via strategies that avoid or minimize single-use packaging.
Following a similar commitment from Coca-Cola, senior vice president of As You Sow Conrad MacKerron said, “We are pleased to have obtained significant commitments this year on boosting reuse/refill models from the two dominant global soft drink beverage companies whose packaging has been identified as a major contributor to global plastic pollution. We commend Pepsi for making this commitment.
Refillables have demonstrated the ability to substantially cut plastic waste and in some markets achieve collection rates of 90% or more. Refillable bottles can be reused from 20 to 40 times. By comparison, less than 30% of single use PET beverage containers are recycled in the US.
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