PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble Join Initiative to Replace Nonrecyclable Flexible Plastic Packaging Following Engagement with As You Sow
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Charter membership in the PaperFlex Consortium follows shareholder proposals at five companies seeking alternatives to multi-layer plastic packaging.
MEDIA CONTACT: Ryon Harms, [email protected], (310) 730-9407
EL CERRITO, CALIFORNIA — OCTOBER 1, 2026 — Two large consumer goods companies that As You Sow previously engaged to find alternatives to non-recyclable flexible plastic packaging have taken positive steps in that direction as charter members of a new initiative aimed at developing recyclable and biodegradable packaging materials.
PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble are charter members of the newly launched PaperFlex Consortium, which aims to develop viable alternatives to flexible plastic packaging. Flexible packaging is the fastest-growing form of packaging, yet most of it cannot be recycled. Most flexible packaging, such as potato chip bags or sealed pouches, is composed of multi-layer laminates that are difficult or impossible to recycle. The goal is to develop viable paper-based recyclable and biodegradable alternatives.
Pew Charitable Trusts’ authoritative plastic pollution study, Breaking the Plastic Wave, concluded that flexible plastic packaging accounts for fully 47% of the total mass of plastic leaked into the environment.
In the 2025 proxy season, As You Sow filed shareholder proposals at five companies — Amazon, Kraft Heinz, Mondelez, P&G, and PepsiCo — seeking action on moving away from flexible plastic packaging. The proposals received 15.6% support at PepsiCo and 14% at P&G.
“It is encouraging to see these two consumer goods giants taking initiative to find alternatives to the ubiquitous flexible pouches and sachets that are dominating some product categories but end up in landfills because they are so hard to recycle,” said Conrad MacKerron, As You Sow Senior Vice President. “This is another example of how patient engagement with companies yields results.”
The PaperFlex Consortium, convened by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, says it aims to design alternatives that are recyclable as collection systems improve and biodegradable in the event they unintentionally end up in the environment.
The group will conduct collaborative trials covering innovations in areas such as biodegradable coatings and improvements in how paper-based materials perform on manufacturing lines.
The same Pew study also found that the greatest opportunity to reduce or eliminate plastic lies with flexible plastic packaging, and estimated that with innovation, redesign, and substitution, 26 million metric tons of flexible packaging could be avoided globally.
As You Sow will encourage the other three companies it engaged — Amazon, Kraft Heinz, and Mondelez — to follow PepsiCo’s and P&G’s example and actively support the new consortium.
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As You Sow is the nation’s leading shareholder representative, with a 30+ year track record promoting environmental and social corporate responsibility. As You Sow addresses a range of issues that affect shareholder value including climate change, ocean plastics, toxins in the food system, biodiversity, racial justice, and workplace diversity. See As You Sow’s shareholder resolution tracker.