You Eat the Chips, Worms Eat the Bag

Maybe you missed it, but this April the snack giant Frito-Lay announced that by Earth Day 2010 SunChips will be packaged in bags made of 100 percent compostable vegetable material. While some might suspect a big bag of corporate green-washing by Frito-Lay and parent company PepsiCo, a conversation with Aurora Gonzalez, communications director of PepsiCo North America, revealed that the company is doing more than just greening up the packaging of one of its chip brands. The snack-food giant has been exploring and implementing eco-friendly practices since 1991. And the compostable SunChips bag is just one aspect of an admirable green track record. Gonzalez shared some of the company's eco-developments at Frito-Lay including a new partnership with upcycling company TerraCycle.Tonic: Thanks for taking the time to talk to Tonic. It sounds like Frito-Lay has a lot of sustainability projects in the works.Gonzalez: Yes, we think we have a great story to tell. At PepsiCo, Frito-Lay’s parent, we take a ... robust approach to sustainability at all levels of the business. At the same time, we try to encourage small steps, because it’s hard to get a company this big — or any company — to do radical things. PepsiCo believes in the importance of sustainability. Partly because it’s good business, and partly because it’s the right thing to do. Our CEO talks about “performance with purpose” and that belief through the whole system, from the very top to the front line, is what makes us successful.In the big picture, we try to reduce the company's impact on the environment through two buckets: packaging initiatives and resource conservation.

Tonic: What are some of your packaging initiatives? Gonzalez: Over the years, our packaging group has looked at every way possible to reduce the amount of packing, but still keep the essence of the product, which is important because it’s the most visible part for the consumer. We’ve done things like changing the seal — there used to be a part on the back of bags that looked like a fin. That’s gone today. It’s a small piece on each package, and probably hardly anyone noticed it, but in the aggregate, it turns into millions of pounds of packaging. That’s a good success story, but we keep looking for new solutions, using new technologies, like changing the composition of Sun Chips packaging to a plant-based material.

Tonic: What can you tell us about the Frito-Lay/TerraCycle partnership?Gonzalez: We just started working with up-cycling company, TerraCycle to develop products using the packaging from all the company’s popular brands, such as Lay’s potato chips, Doritos and Tostitos tortilla chips and Cheetos cheese-flavored snacks. To start, the bags will be collected by 1,000 “chip bag brigades,” which we hope will translate to 150,000 consumers engaged in the program and 5 million bags that get diverted from landfill.The chip brigades will send the bags to TerraCycle, where they will be used to make quality, affordable products such as purses, pencil cases and tote bags. The products will be out in time for back to school this Fall, starting with Target, and also Wal-Mart.

Tonic: How did you find and decide to work with TerraCycle?Gonzalez: We recognized the need for a full complement of solutions for packaging, so the opportunity was clear with TerraCycle. They’re doing something innovative, and they gave us a way to up-cycle the packaging. At the same time, we get to engage consumers in a new way. We even get to reward them!

Tonic: A reward sounds great! How does that work? Gonzalez: For every bag you return (through the bag brigade program) you get two cents, which goes directly back to the community. When a group starts a bag brigade, they can pick the beneficiary. It’s great for school groups, church organizations, or nonprofits trying to fundraise. As a company we’re everywhere, so we were excited to find a way to support all communities.

Tonic: What are some of your resource conservation programs?Gonzalez: We look at resource conservations from a few different angles: electricity consumption, fuel consumption — we have the seventh largest privately owned fleet in the United States — and water use. About 10 years ago in our manufacturing facilities we set aggressive goals to reduce the resources we use ... And we decided that it was important to make them measurable, so we know how we’re doing, and so that we have better commitment. We started with switching lightbulbs to CFLs, using daylight, changing behaviors like using an air hose and broom to clean a floor instead of water. Now it’s ingrained, and people come up with their own ideas all the time. The next level was to look at our vehicles. We’re willing to consider anything to improve our MPG! So we’ve improved aerodynamics, we made some of the trucks hybrids because they stop and start a lot, and doing as much route optimization as possible. We’ve done a lot of driver education — always make sure your tires are the right pressure! Many little things, and they add up.On the manufacturing side, we’re applying the latest technologies to create a learning lab and see how far can we get — and then can apply it to our other facilities. We have solar panels, we’re installing a membrane bioreactor, which in theory will allow us to recycle 80 percent of the water used. We’re asking, “How far off the grid can we get this facility? And then how can we use what we learned there?”

Tonic: Wow, you’re really willing to try some innovative ideas!Gonzalez: Well, we look at it this way. If you’re thinking about this today, you’re feeling the pressure to be green, and probably scrambling to find some solutions. We’ve had green teams in facilities since 1991. In 1999 we kicked off the green manufacturing program. We have a decade of experience and data to demonstrate the payoff of resource conservation programs to the bottom line and for the environment.

Tonic: What’s the most important part of PepsiCo’s and Frito-Lays sustainability programs?Gonzalez: We understand that technology can only get you so far, but if people don’t believe in it, or rally around it, there’s a limit to what you can do. But when you have people, process and technology all humming you can have a significant impact. We feel lucky to have all three!