New York-based multinational food, snack and beverage enterprise, PepsiCo and the Saudi Waste Management Center (SWMC) have entered into a strategic partnership to improve sustainability in the Kingdom.
The MoU signed by Dr. Abdullah F. Al Sebaei, CEO and board member of Saudi Waste Management Center, and Tamer Mosalam, vice president, general manager GCC and Levant business unit, at PepsiCo highlights the two bodies’ role in promoting sustainability policies to support a circular economy.
The first sustainability project in the partnership will see Aquafina (the brand of purified bottled water produced by PepsiCo) and the Saudi Waste Management Center introduce customized, solar-powered smart bins that segregate and crush plastic bottles to minimize plastic waste, specially built for the event around Makkah’s holy sites.
To produce the smart bins, PepsiCo is working with Cycled to deliver customizable Aquafina-branded smart bins for this year’s Hajj.
Praising the sustainability-focused partnership, Dr. Abdullah F. Al Sebaei, CEO of Saudi Waste Management Center said, “Our partnership with PepsiCo gives us an opportunity to generate more awareness on the importance of sustainable waste collection and develop a pro-active culture of recycling.”
Al Sebaei also confirmed that the partnership is the first among several SWMC collaborations partnerships to enhance the private sector’s involvement in driving environmental awareness and developing innovative solutions to enable sustainability.
The strategic vision of the partnership aims to develop Saudi Arabia’s circular economy through multiple initiatives based on four pillars:
Plastic collection and recycling projects,
Educational school activities,
Awareness campaigns and
Event sponsorship with associated activation
With multiple projects planned for each pillar over the next year, the MOU by PepsiCo and the SWMC will also contribute to Saudi Arabia’s own environmental sustainability objectives as part of Vision 2030, which sets out to improve the efficiency of waste management, establishing recycling projects and reducing pollution.
