PepsiCo Europe has announced the appointment of Archana Jagannathan as its new chief sustainability officer, effective immediately.

Jagannathan currently holds a leadership position on Climate, Energy and Water at PepsiCo Europe, as well as being vice president for sustainability in the UK and Ireland.

She joined the soft drinks and snacking giant in 2018, and has held a variety of roles at the business, in category management, packaging and sustainability.

Sustainable Packaging Strategy

‘Under her leadership, PepsiCo has developed a sustainable packaging strategy for Europe, including announcing and delivering on its ambition on 100% rPET, as well as developing plans to eliminate virgin-fossil-based plastic in all crisp and chip bags by 2030,’ the company said in a statement.

Jagannathan is also set to play a role in the transformation strategy PepsiCo Positive (pep+), which puts sustainability at the centre of the business.

See related article: PepsiCo Debuts Platform Designed To Support Customers In Achieving Their Sustainability Goals

‘Strong Vision And Commitment’

“PepsiCo has long had a strong vision and commitment to its sustainability agenda and pep+ provides the entire organization with a clear roadmap to sustainably grow and bring value to the planet and people,” Jagannathan commented.

“We’re taking significant action to deliver on that vision and I look forward to continuing my work embedding pep+ into our decision making and wider business strategy”.

In her role she will report to Silviu Popovici, PepsiCo Europe chief executive, and PepsiCo’s global chief Sustainability officer, Jim Andrew.

In a statement, PepsiCo said that it thanked its CSO, Katharina Stenholm, for her ‘leadership and achievements during her time at the company’ and wished her ‘all the best in the future’.