PepsiCo Europe and Yara Collaborate to Reduce Carbon Footprint in Crop Production

On July 16, 2024, PepsiCo Europe and Yara unveiled a strategic, long-term partnership in Europe focused on delivering crop nutrition programs to assist in decarbonizing the food value chain.

Under this multi-country partnership, PepsiCo Europe will provide participating farmers with top-tier crop nutrition products, expert advice, and advanced digital tools for precision farming. This support aims to improve nutrient use efficiency (NUE), boost yields, and decrease the carbon footprint of their crops. Yara, Europe's foremost crop nutrition company, will supply PepsiCo with the necessary products and services.

Yara will supply PepsiCo with up to 165,000 tons of fertilizer annually in Europe by 2030, meeting approximately 25% of their crop fertilizer requirements. The majority of these fertilizers will be Yara Climate Choice products, which include low-carbon footprint options made from renewable ammonia (Herøya, Norway) or low-carbon ammonia via carbon capture and storage (CCS), currently being developed at Yara Sluiskil. Additionally, the mix will feature Yara’s premium nitrate-based mineral fertilizers produced using natural gas, utilizing catalyst technology to achieve a carbon footprint around 50% lower than most non-EU fertilizers. The partnership aims to transition entirely to Yara Climate Choice fertilizers by 2030 as production scales up and technologies advance.

The partnership underscores both companies' dedication to advancing a sustainable food system aligned with the European Union’s climate goals. Concurrently, it will assist farmers in managing transition costs, safeguarding their livelihoods during this transformative period.

"This partnership with Yara aligns with our holistic transformation initiative, PepsiCo Positive (pep+), and will be pivotal in our path toward achieving a net-zero food system of the future. Addressing Scope 3 emissions is a central focus of our pep+ agenda, though it presents one of the most challenging areas for direct influence. By providing our farmers with fertilizers that have a reduced carbon footprint and supporting them in optimizing crop nutrition across the board, we aim to take significant strides toward our goal of achieving net zero by 2040," stated Archana Jagannathan, Chief Sustainability Officer at PepsiCo Europe.

The partnership also aligns with Yara's commitment to sustainably nourish the world while safeguarding the planet.

"To foster a food future that benefits nature and revolutionizes our food system, collaboration throughout the entire food value chain is indispensable. We are enthusiastic about partnering with trailblazers like PepsiCo to realize this vision. Decarbonizing food production is crucial for achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, and farmers will be pivotal in our journey towards that objective," remarked Mónica Andrés Enríquez, Executive Vice President for Europe at Yara.

The partnership aims to promote the adoption of regenerative agricultural practices across approximately 1,000 farms, encompassing approximately 128,000 hectares throughout the European Union and the UK. Initially focusing on potatoes, a critical crop for PepsiCo, the initiative will later extend to include other crops like oats and corn.

The greatest opportunity for emissions reduction lies in fertilizers, as both their production and in-field use contribute to half of PepsiCo’s average carbon footprint for potatoes in Europe.

Additionally, this partnership will expand sustainable nutrient management practices among PepsiCo's farmer groups. It will involve comprehensive crop and soil data collection and monitoring using PepsiCo’s CropTrak and ML Analytics tool, complemented by Yara's digital solutions such as digital satellite imagery through the AtFarm platform and MegaLab soil analysis.