- 30 maja 2023
- Category: Community News
Today, May 31, 2023, PepsiCo has unveiled its most sustainable factory in Europe as the industry increasingly recognizes the circular economy as a framework to address global food system challenges.
The opening ceremony of the plant took place on 31 May, inaugurated by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and US Ambassador Mark Brzezinski. The event was attended by over 150 government officials, local authorities, project partners and PepsiCo employees.
The Polish plant near Środa Śląska will use new sustainability solutions that demonstrate a circular economy in action, such as converting leftover potato peelings into fertilizer and collecting rainwater for reuse, with the plant set to be climate neutral by 2035.
The EUR 300 million project, the company’s fifth plant in the country, will produce for the domestic market and export to over 20 countries, including Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary.
A future of circularity
The new plant – the company’s greenest in Europe – is built with sustainability at its core and shows how circular economy principles can be used throughout the entire life cycle of a snack.
Alongside low utility consumption, the facility generates its own energy via solar panels, with plans to introduce an onsite solar farm in the future. Process Heat process water and rainwater will also be recovered for use in building utilities.
Even the potatoes from the manufacturing process play a key role. The leftover peelings will be used to help power the plant using anaerobic digestor technology, then converted into a low-carbon fertilizer which is given back to the farmers to help them grow their next crop.
The plant also brings to light new sustainable solutions such as the electrification of steam generation and an electric fleet of company cars with dedicated charging stations.
Waste reduction, in all its forms and across the value chain, is a strategic imperative for PepsiCo and a key tenet of its pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) ambition.
Silviu Popovici, CEO, PepsiCo Europe: “Poland is a strategic market with a significant development potential, where we have been investing for over 30 years. The opening of this new, environmentally sustainable snack facility is a major milestone for PepsiCo in Europe. We would like to thank our stakeholders and our associates for helping us reimagine the future of food and bringing this facility to life.”
Growing in a key market
PepsiCo has had a major presence in Poland for over thirty years, with this plant marking the company’s fifth plant in the region. Today PepsiCo contributes to approximately 32,000 jobs across the value chain. The new plant will create 450 jobs, helping to boost Poland’s economy.
PepsiCo has been working with local communities since the beginning of its operations in Poland. Today, crops are sourced under the global Sustainable Farming Programme and PepsiCo in Poland sources over 200,000 tonnes of sustainably grown potatoes each year. This volume is expected to grow by 60,000 tonnes per year by 2025. With the new facility now up and running, PepsiCo will significantly expand the Polish farming program to cover 19,000 acres (7,700 hectares) and over 80 farms in the coming years.
“There couldn’t be a better example of our shared success in economic growth than PepsiCo Poland! The iconic American brand first arrived in Poland in 1991, then it opened in 1993 its first factory near Warsaw. All these years later PepsiCo is continuing to invest in Poland and its people by expanding its footprint in a substantial way. This new manufacturing plant is PepsiCo’s fifth and largest investment in Poland so far,” said Mark F. Brzezinski, US Ambassador to Poland.
By investing in the region and contributing to the well-being of local communities, PepsiCo is further demonstrating its strategic commitment to Poland.
Take a virtual tour of the new plant here.