PepsiCo wins award for best sustainable technology at inaugural Ethical Corporation Awards
The award recognised pioneering efforts in India where PepsiCo developed farming technologies that reduce water use by 30% and carbon emissions by 70%.
06 May 2010
As part of PepsiCo's commitment to have a positive impact on the environment, we are minimising global water use through greater efficiency, innovative processes and new technologies. One such technology is the new direct seeding of rice process pioneered in India that Ethical Corporation has recognised.
Traditional methods of growing rice in India are water intensive and require saplings to be grown in a nursery before being transplanted to a field where they are grown in 4-5 inches of water. The new direct seeding method allows seeds to be sown directly in the field and does not require additional water at its base. This reduces water use by 30% (0.9 million litres per acre) and carbon emissions by 70% compared to traditional methods.
This new farming method has helped PepsiCo India achieve positive water balance - giving more water back to the watershed than is taken out. Even more importantly, it reduced water consumption by 5.5 billion litres of water in 2009 in a country where water is an increasingly scarce commodity.
Ethical Corporation's inaugural awards ceremony took place amidst the Responsible Business Summit where James Barlow, PepsiCo Sustainability Manager for the UK and Europe, spoke about the impact on businesses from landfill waste legislation and regulation.
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