PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) said it will attempt to reduce the carbon footprint of its Tropicana brand orange juice by changing its use of fertilizer.
The company worked with the Carbon Trust to determine how it could reduce the lifecycle emissions from the product, and found that the largest single source of carbon emissions–approximately 35%–was fertilizer use and application for the growing process.
PepsiCo and its Florida suppliers are currently testing multiple approaches using reduced-carbon fertilizers. If successful, this change could reduce the total carbon footprint of Tropicana Pure Premium by as much as 15%, the company said.
In tandem with one of its long-time growers, SMR Farms in Bradenton, Florida, PepsiCo is testing two environmentally-friendly fertilizers.
Yara International’s fertilizer is manufactured with proprietary technology that reduces nitrous oxide emissions by up to 90%. Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas that is approximately 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
The other fertilizer, made by Toronto-based Outlook Resources (TSX-V: OLR), achieves a lower-carbon footprint by using locally-sourced, carbon-neutral raw materials such as food waste and agriculture waste rather than natural gas, avoiding unnecessary carbon emissions from both natural gas and fertilizer transportation.
The new study will last up to five years to match the maturity cycle of orange trees.
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