How are PepsiCo and Yara Decarbonising Food Chains?

The global food system faces the challenge of meeting rising nutrition demand while managing its environmental footprint.

Agriculture contributes significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions, often linked to upstream fertiliser production and downstream nutrient application.

Ahead of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting, PepsiCo released an update on its strategic partnership with Yara to address these supply chain complexities.

In 2024, PepsiCo announced a long-term partnership with Yara to provide farmers with crop nutrition programmes helping decarbonise the food value chain.

The agreement involved Yara delivering 165,000 tonnes of fertiliser annually to PepsiCo, covering a quarter of its needs by 2030.

This project combines lower-carbon fertilisers produced from renewable or carbon capture and storage (CCS) ammonia with soil diagnostics. This logistical strategy allows efficient nutrient use, reducing upstream and in-field emissions without undermining yields.

The initial project spanned the EU and UK, involving 1,000 farms and 128,000 hectares.

Integrating upstream supply solutions

The partnership integrates solutions impacting the supply chain from production to application. Margaret Henry, Vice President, Sustainable & Regenerative Agriculture at PepsiCo, says: “We have put farmers at the centre and are helping them scale regenerative practices, reduce emissions and build resilience across agricultural communities.

"By introducing low-emission fertiliser solutions and leveraging innovation, this collaboration helps accelerate progress toward a net zero food system while supporting farmer livelihoods and strengthening food security.

"It’s collaborations like this and others that demonstrate how business, government and civil society can work together to deliver systemic change.”

PepsiCo has demonstrated the replicability of this programme in other geographies. By mid-2025, PepsiCo and Yara extended their model to Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Argentina, focusing on potato growers.

This Latin American programme mirrors the European version, offering lower-carbon fertilisers alongside agronomic support and digital monitoring.

All supply chain, sustainability, Scope 3 and net zero leaders should attend:

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Expanding regional logistics models

Early projects showed potential emission reductions of 20-40% per tonne of potatoes. Benoit Lamaison, Senior Vice President for Continental Europe and Product Strategy at Yara, says: “To transform our food system, we need to collaborate across the food value chain.

"We’re excited to work with first movers like PepsiCo to help make this a reality. Decarbonising food production will be critical to delivering on the Paris Agreement and farmers will play a key role in helping us get there.”

According to the International Fertiliser Association, nearly half of global food production depends on mineral fertilisers. Decarbonising this element is critical for the agricultural value chain to meet global climate goals.

Traditional fertiliser production relies on fossil feedstocks, while field-level nitrogen use releases nitrous oxide.

Decarbonising agricultural value chains

The approach benefits farmers by providing monitoring, advice and supply chain relationships, limiting risk and encouraging lower-carbon fertiliser use.

Jim Andrew, Chief Sustainability Officer at PepsiCo, said on LinkedIn: “Governments, businesses, financial institutions and civil society must work together, towards a common set of clear objectives, to strengthen the global food system in the face of increasing climate pressures, soil degradation, water scarcity and extreme weather events.

"The world must also realise that farmers and farming communities are essential partners in building resilience and sustainability and that any systemic change starts with them.

"These things are easy to say, but we know from our experience that they, unfortunately, don’t always happen ‘on the ground’.”