Pepsico’s hsas announced its first net-zero plant in Spain, calling it a “big milestone” in its PepsiCoPositive programme.

The plant in Etxabarri-Ibiña will be the company’s first facility to achieve net-zero emissions in 2025, and first net-zero emissions beverage plant in the world, after harnessing renewables and electrification.

PepsiCo has been on a mission to decarbonise operations in the last few years. And last year the company also opened a plant in Środa Śląska, south-western Poland, to produce Lay's crisps and Doritos nachos, designed by Arup, and is aiming to reduce absolute emissions across its value chain by more than 40 per cent by 2030 and reach net-zero by 2040.

The Środa Śląska facility is, in a way, a more impressive addition, being designed from the start to be its most sustainable food production facility in Europe, embracing decarbonisation and circular economy principles, with aspects from material selection right through the built and operation considered. Here, Arup calculated the plant’s whole life carbon footprint, including construction, operation and deconstruction, highlighting carbon hot spots for the design team to prioritise in reducing emissions.

Alongside operational energy efficiency, the facility generates clean power from photovoltaic panels and its own wind turbine, with plans for an on-site solar farm in the future. Waste heat from food production, waste products and water are also be recovered and reused.

Together, the two plants, less than a year apart, demonstrate the commitment, and the trajectory that the company has, and how other food manufacturers can create future-proof facilities.

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