PepsiCo companies move towards sustainable packaging

Frito-Lay and Quaker have announced the opening of a Greenhouse Learning Centre at their R&D headquarters that will be used to test, measure and analyse compostable packaging to speed up the rate of innovation. The facility is a milestone in working towards PepsiCo Positive’s (pep+) packaging goal to be 100% recyclable, compostable, biodegradable or reusable by 2025.

Denise Lefebvre, Senior Vice President of R&D for PepsiCo, said the company aims to build a future where packaging does not become waste.

The team will use the centre to test the biodegradation properties of compostable packages in different environments to accelerate learnings, validate lab results through real-time experiments and iterate packaging solutions quicker.

The centre aims to enable packaging products to move from testing to certification at least two to three times faster. The facility is located next to the existing prototyping lab where compostable packaging is created. It aims to change industry standards by raising awareness on the benefits of compostable packaging and demonstrating circularity with biodegradable materials.

The R&D teams at Frito-Lay and Quaker have long aimed to improve packaging, first releasing a 100% commercially compostable chip bag in 2010.

“We look forward to leveraging key findings from the Greenhouse Learning Centre, alongside our scale, reach and expertise across North America and globally, to drive progress across our organisation and the entire industry,” said David Allen, Chief Sustainability Officer, Frito-Lay and Quaker.

Following the launch of Off The Eaten Path’s commercially compostable packaging, the company has introduced options made from 85% renewable plant materials that produce approximately 60% lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than traditional snack bags. Moving forward, the company will focus on home-compostable and biodegradable packaging.