August 27, 2018

SumOfUs petition targets Indra Nooyi over PepsiCo’s turbulent history with palm oil

A new petition from international consumer group SumOfUs is calling on PepsiCo’s Indra Nooyi to fix the company’s palm oil policy and terminate its partnership with Indofood, an Indonesian food manufacturer, before stepping down as CEO next month.

The petition, which has been signed by nearly 60,000 people, argues that Nooyi would leave behind a twelve year legacy of rainforest destruction, killing of endangered species like orangutans and exploitation of workers for palm oil if she does not implement these changes prior to her departure.

View the petition here: https://actions.sumofus.org/a/pepsi-ceo-indra-nooyi-fix-palm-oil-policy/

“Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi has been making a quick a buck on cheap palm oil for years, and we’re not buying it,” said Fatah Campaign Manager at SumOfUs. “Through its joint venture partnership with Indofood, PepsiCo has been profiting off of deforestation, the deathkilling of endangered animals, and labor rights violations throughout Indonesia.

“Investigations into Pepsi’s business partner Indofood’s palm oil supply chainproduction have exposed a culture of brazen disregard for environmental laws and a feudal attitude towards workers. While Indra Nooyi might turn away from these issues, the amount of public support behind this campaign shows that her time of ignoring the ugly truth about Pepsi’s palm oil policies is up. Nooyi knows her last few weeks as CEO are crucial to her legacy. Unless she responds and closesfixes the loopholes in Pepsi’s broken palm oil policy, her name will be mired by association with destruction, exploitation, and abuse.”

“Nooyi is in a uniquely powerful position to create lasting change and a more reputable legacy for herself and the company she has served throughout the past twelve years. Revising Pepsi’s subpar palm oil policies is a major way to accomplish both.”

Over past years, SumOfUs has forced some of the palm oil industry’s key players to change their approach on palm oil sourcing. SumOfUs recently campaigned with a petition targeting Nestlé’s dodgy palm oil partner REPSA in Guatemala. The exposure and media fall-out forced Nestlé to cut ties with REPSA all together.

View the petition here: https://actions.sumofus.org/a/pepsi-ceo-indra-nooyi-fix-palm-oil-policy/