The first 100 days of the new European Commission are behind us and we are seeing that the drive toward competitiveness, resilience, sustainability and growth is real.
It will be pivotal that every business, sector and industry stay ahead of the curve when it comes to the development and adoption of emerging technologies, including the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) — a critical catalyst for progress. At PepsiCo, we’ve been leveraging AI for over a decade. From seed to shelf, and from farm to fork, we’ve taken an AI-first approach to fundamentally reshape how PepsiCo plans, makes, moves, sells and delivers our products. It’s been a powerful tool for our ongoing transformation, and we’ll continue to harness the power of AI — using it responsibly to benefit our business, our people and society.
Promoting sustainable agriculture
AI is a crucial enabler of productive agriculture. Every bag of Lay’s and Doritos chips or bowl of Quaker oats, begins with high-quality ingredients, grown by one of the tens of thousands of farmers in PepsiCo’s global supply chain. Across the globe we’ve partnered with farmers to capture over a million data points about crop yields, soil health, weather patterns and much more. With machine learning, data can be analyzed to identify improvements that help farmers conserve resources while increasing yields.
This data-driven approach empowers farmers to adopt more intelligent growing practices, driving both sustainable agriculture processes and long-term growth.
Optimizing our end-to-end value chain
AI has been deeply integrated across our supply chain to help us streamline production, enhance logistics and support proactive maintenance so that our products reach consumers reliably and sustainably. At our Walkers factory in the UK, we’ve implemented AI-powered sensors that monitor our machinery and equipment in real-time.
By using advanced sound-based diagnostics, we’re able to decrease unplanned downtime. This allows us to deliver our products reliably and ensures our mechanics can focus on planned maintenance rather than reactive repair.
Leveraging AI also enables more seamless and sustainable deliveries. We’re able to analyze traffic patterns, weather conditions and delivery schedules to quickly identify the most efficient routes for transportation. This reduces costs and minimizes the carbon footprint of our distribution network.
Empowering our workforce
These are powerful examples of how AI technology complements the work and day-to-day lives of our talented teams. Our guiding principle is that AI must work hand-in-hand with human ingenuity, enhancing productivity and freeing our employees to have more time to think critically and creatively.
Starting my career in academia impressed upon me the importance of remaining curious. To me, curiosity is the birthplace of creativity, which is why it’s essential to me that our people remain curious and that we provide them with opportunities to develop their skills and careers. For these reasons, we make it a priority to foster a culture of continuous learning at PepsiCo, where everyone can thrive.
The Act highlights the importance of AI literacy, reinforcing the need for organizations to equip their employees with the knowledge and skills to leverage AI effectively. PepsiCo is already driving AI literacy internally, ensuring that our teams are ready to work alongside AI systems safely and responsibly.
At PepsiCo we’re ensuring our employees are fluent in data and understand how the technologies we’re implementing work for them. This means reimagining workplace training for greater impact: PepsiCo’s Digital Academy offers more than 50,000 learning modules, covering everything from machine learning to cloud computing. And of course, it also leverages AI to deliver personalized training courses and degrees based on everyone’s role and experience.
As we continue to integrate AI into PepsiCo’s digital transformation, we recognize that it comes with some risks and are committed to deploying AI ethically and transparently. Our Responsible AI Framework is a rigorous governance process that ensures our use of AI is deployed in a way that is ethical, equitable and transparent. This commitment aligns with the principles of the EU AI Act, which emphasizes responsible AI deployment, governance and workforce upskilling.
Looking ahead
I believe it’s vital that every business adopts a proactive approach to upskilling its workforce to ensure that no one is left behind. As I travel across Europe to meet our teams, partners and stakeholders, it is encouraging to see the shared vision of how democratizing AI is key to achieving our shared goals — whether feeding the world sustainably or driving down emissions.
As we continue to scale AI across PepsiCo, I believe we’re setting an example that others can follow when it comes to private-sector investment in this critical form of technology. We are eager to collaborate with the Commission and other stakeholders to unlock solutions that are practical, scalable, innovative and transformative, driving lasting impact for the communities we serve. I invite you to reach out and work with us to ensure the EU leads in the AI revolution.
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