Interviews
11 aoû 20

Case Study, PepsiCo: Driving “green” in Brazil

Food & Beverage company PepsiCo has set an objective to reduce 20% ​​of its greenhouse gas emissions worldwide by 2030 and, according to transport and logistics coordinator Eduardo Pombo, the company’s logistics team in Brazil plays a crucial part in achieving this goal.
 

Company

Pepsico Brasil

Number of Employees

10,000 approx.

Name

Eduardo Pombo

Job Position

Transport & Logistics Coordinator

Number of Vehicles

2,800 (700 light vehicles)

Number of Countries

Brazil

 

Appointed as one of the six coordinators managing a total of 2,800 vehicles in Brazil, Mr. Pombo manages 310 heavy vehicles and 70 light vehicles in the country’s South II region which includes the southern states of Paraná and Santa Catarina.

According to the coordinator, all of the country’s 2,100 heavy (3-8 ton) vehicles – issued to its sales and delivery teams - are owned while the remaining 700 light vehicles – reserved for operational teams and sales managers - are leased.

When it comes to being more environmentally sustainable, the multinational is carrying out several initiatives. For one, it kicked off a new ecological vehicle cleaning process last year which involves internal vacuuming, glass and panel cleaning, and a complete external wash which includes all painted surfaces, tires, wheels, wheel wells, and door jambs..

For the external areas, vehicles are cleaned with carnauba wax-based products which are diluted in just 300ml of water. “A conventional wash uses approximately 200L of water,” says Mr. Pombo.

Moreover, the company’s new light vehicle supplier will be planting more than 49,000 trees to offset CO2 emissions of its vehicles, tires for its heavy vehicle fleet are being recapped to optimize waste management, and several sustainable energy projects are in the works.

Besides acquiring 18 natural gas vehicles, PepsiCo Brasil is waiting for 10 full-electric vehicles which should be delivered by year-end 2020. So far, the move to natural gas has shown a fuel consumption savings of some 20% and when using Biomethane, up to 90%, says the coordinator.


PepsiCo electric delivery truck (source: PepsiCo)

The firm has also partnered with local energy company Sunew for the development of a solar energy project for distribution trucks. Organic Photovoltaic Films (OPV) will be installed in 10 vehicles for a pilot project which involves managing the battery recharge of vehicles with a lighting system.

“Replacing old vehicles with these new clean energy alternatives is a long-term goal and we feel that it will be possible to have a 100% sustainable fleet in 15-20 years,” says Mr. Pombo.

Based in Harrison, New York, PepsiCo has a product portfolio of 22 brands. It boasts global revenue of some US$67 billion and has 267,000 employees. Approximately 10,000 are in Brazil. 

Authored by: Daniel Bland
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