PURCHASE, NY. — PepsiCo Inc. and Walmart are working together as part of a seven-year collaboration to seek $120 million worth of investments in US and Canadian farmers looking to improve soil health and water quality. The partnership establishes and measures financial, agronomic and social programs to enable and advance the adaptation of regenerative agriculture practices on more than 2 million acres of farmland as well as deliver approximately 4 million tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions and removals by 2030, which is roughly the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power 778,300 homes for one year.

The partnership is part of both companies’ shared focus to support farming communities, improve soil and water health, and lower carbon emissions. PepsiCo said its resilient food system is essential to the company’s business as well as its ability to meet ambitious pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) goals. 

These goals consist of adopting regenerative agriculture practices across seven million acres by 2030, which is approximately the size of PepsiCo’s agricultural footprint, and reducing more than 40% of its absolute GHG emissions across its entire value chain by 2030 (against a 2015 baseline) while aiming for net-zero emissions by 2040.

Both PepsiCo and Walmart said they depend on farmers to grow ingredients for food products. A supply chain belonging to two companies that stretches across the United States and involves many critical crops — potatoes, oats, corn, wheat, soybeans, rice and more — makes sustainability look different from commodity to commodity, region to region and farm to farm, both companies noted. PepsiCo and Walmart also said a collaboration provides a voluntary, flexible approach to regenerative agriculture that gives farmers “a seat at the table, recognizes the diversity of agriculture and that one size does not fit all.”

“This effort is a new model for PepsiCo, marking our first, large-scale strategic collaboration focused on sustainable agriculture with a retail partner,” said Steven Williams, chief executive officer of PepsiCo Foods North America. “Farmers are critical to our business, and many of the brands our consumers know and love rely on ingredients that we source straight from the farm. By joining forces with Walmart, we’ll be empowering farmers through education, upfront investment in outcomes, peer coaching, and cost-sharing — and hopefully inspiring others to join us.”

According to Walmart, the partnership is an example of how the company prioritizes “purposeful” collaborations to accelerate the adaptation of regenerative practices as part of both its goal and the Walmart Foundation’s goal to protect, restore and more sustainably manage 50 million acres of land and 1 million square miles of ocean by 2030.