MOSCOW (MRC) -- PepsiCo Beverages North America announced that it is investing USD15m in Closed Loop Partners' Leadership Fund, to strengthen recycling infrastructure and build circular supply chains, said the company.
Closed Loop Partners is a New York-based investment firm focused on building the circular economy. The Leadership Fund a private equity fund that acquires and grows companies, including in the packaging value chain. PepsiCo has collaborated with Closed Loop Partners for several years, beginning in 2014 as a founding member of the original Closed Loop Infrastructure Fund. Additionally, they are an investor in the Closed Loop Partners Beverage Fund, sponsored by the American Beverage Every Bottle Back Initiative.
Through investments in recycling infrastructure, PepsiCo hopes to achieve several sustainable packaging targets. By 2030, all Pepsi-branded products will be offered in 100% recycled polyethylene terephthalate (R-PET) bottles, with Pepsi Zero Sugar beginning to be sold in 100% R-PET bottles by 2022. Demand for post-consumer recycled (PCR) content has significantly increased in recent years, as fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies have pledged to use PCR content in their packaging over the next five to 10 years.
Low recycling rates in the US may not be able to keep up with demand. "The recycling landscape in America continues to be challenging, and as companies - including PepsiCo - set ambitious goals to use more recycled content in their packaging, there is more need than ever for partnerships and action to increase access to recycled material,” said Jason Blake, Chief Sustainability Officer and SVP at PepsiCo Beverages North America.
US PET bottle recycling rates dropped to 26.6% in 2020, down from 27.9% in 2019, according to NAPCOR’s 2020 PET Recycling Report. Low collection, coupled with strong demand has pushed R-PET prices to record highs in 2021.
As per MRC, PepsiCo wants to cut the use of virgin plastic by 50% serving and use 50% recycled content in plastic packaging by 2030. Beverage and food supplier PepsiCo has announced a new goal to cut virgin plastic per serving by 50 per cent across its global food and beverage portfolio by 2030 as part of its new “pep+,” or PepsiCo Positive, company initiative.
Also, we remind, RT-Invest (Moscow, part of Rostec) will invest 6 bn rubles. in the construction of a new plant in the Moscow region for the production of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (r-PET) from packaging waste, which will be in demand from Mars, PepsiCo and Danone operating in Russia.
MRC