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Home > CEO Q&A

Q&A with Eric J. Foss

What is PBG’s sustainability strategy?

We’ve developed a three-pronged sustainability strategy to help reinforce and advance our core business fundamentals. As always, we are focused on the areas where PBG, as a beverage company, can make the biggest difference; and then we measure that progress to ensure our efforts are both meaningful and successful.

Specifically, PBG’s sustainability strategy is structured around the environment, employees and communities.

• Environment–We’re committed to using natural resources responsibly and producing less waste, with a primary focus on water conservation, energy management, recycling, lightweighting and self-manufacturing.
• Employees–We’re dedicated to improving our employees’ health and wellness, developing effective leaders and fostering a workplace that is diverse and inclusive.
• Communities–PBG looks for and embraces opportunities to strengthen families and improve neighborhood family centers. Our employees set our giving agenda, helping us determine where to commit our donations, volunteer outreach efforts and civic engagement.

Why do you think it’s important to pursue sustainable practices?

Our approach to sustainability is an extension of our values: to respect the people around us–colleagues, customers and consumers; to operate with a sense of responsibility to those who work for, buy from and invest in our company; and to conduct our business in the right way. Sustainability makes our organization and communities stronger, and it makes our customers and consumers more loyal. It is a natural outgrowth of who we are, what we do and how we do it.

How do you implement your strategy?

Integration and measurement are key to executing our strategy. We make sustainability a part of who we are and what we do by baking it into our overall business strategy. This increases the likelihood of success because the organization sees that sustainability isn’t just the latest ad slogan. It’s here to stay so each of us needs to adopt more sustainable habits quickly to stay relevant and be effective in our jobs.

Second, we will measure our progress. It’s true that what gets measured gets done so we have to let employees know what the metrics and tangible goals are.

How do you define success in terms of your sustainability efforts?

Each year, we look to improve upon our past sustainability efforts. We define success by how well we:

• Improve our water and energy conservation efforts
• Utilize more recycled materials in our bottles
• Educate consumers to recycle more
• Facilitate healthier lifestyles among our employees
• Strengthen the communities where we work and live

What are some of the environmental advancements you’ve made?

I’m very proud of what we are doing and what we have already achieved at PBG, especially in the areas of water, energy and lightweighting.

• Through the adoption of new water sanitation technologies and air rinsing systems, we’re realizing significant reductions in our water usage throughout our supply chain.
• In energy, we’ve made changes to our fleet and transportation systems that have decreased fuel consumption and reduced our carbon footprint. A new initiative to retire and redeploy older full-service vending machines also has produced greater energy savings. And, in 2007, PBG was recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for buying green power certificates equivalent to our entire U.S. electricity consumption.
• To reduce the amount of materials required to produce our packaging, PBG pursues bottle lightweighting, saving millions of pounds of plastic every year.

By focusing on areas that are relevant to PBG’s business, we are able to make significant, continuous improvements. That’s a winning proposition for PBG and the community.

You also mentioned employees and communities as elements of your sustainability strategy. What progress have you made in these areas?

We work hard to make PBG a great place to work. Through a range of traditional and progressive benefits, employees gain access to resources and programs that empower them to make informed decisions about their health, careers and financial well-being. As a result of our efforts–and outcomes–PBG has earned recognition as a best place to work in DiversityInc, Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines.

PBG is a global company but when it comes to community outreach, we take a very local approach. Our particular strategy is unique because our employees determine which causes and organizations we support. Through financial contributions, product donations and volunteer matching grants, we now contribute more than $16 million a year to local charities.

Why is PBG creating a report and why now?

As customers, consumers, recruits and shareholders become more educated about sustainability, they are increasingly conscious of a company’s track record when making their purchase, employment and investment decisions. Simply stated, communicating a company’s sustainability record matters. Therefore, it’s important for PBG to be a visible participant in this ongoing dialogue and to more regularly report back on our progress.