This week, during the Fast Company Innovation Festival in New York City, RAN activists confronted Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo, on the company’s connection to the exploitation of Indonesian palm oil workers.
Watch this video of RAN activists as they question Ms. Nooyi in the middle of her speech to expose PepsiCo’s Conflict Palm Oil problem:
In the video, Indra acknowledges the egregious human rights violations in it’s business partner Indofood’s operations, but claims that PepsiCo is somehow “not related” to these issues. In reality, Indofood is the sole maker of PepsiCo-branded products in Indonesia, which makes PepsiCo responsible for its partner’s human rights violations. As CEO of the largest snack food company in the world, Ms. Nooyi has the power to make a huge difference in the company’s palm oil supply chain. Since the release of its most recent substandard palm oil policy in September, nothing has changed on the ground for the communities and workers that continue to feel the real cost of PepsiCo’s demand for cheap Conflict Palm Oil.
After years of inaction and paper promises, we’ve finally got PepsiCo’s attention. In September, we delivered a quarter million petitions to PepsiCo headquarters. Students at universities across the country are telling PepsiCo recruiters, “We won’t work for Conflict Palm Oil.” And on Tuesday, we delivered the message in person to CEO Indra Nooyi. RAN activists also handed out flyers and put up posters in New York City to expose PepsiCo’s connection to Conflict Palm Oil.
PepsiCo Conflict Palm Oil posters near Washington Square Park in New York City.
Every day that PepsiCo’s executives sign off on this flawed business model is another day where palm oil workers are exploited, children are working on plantations rather than in school, and ecosystems are destroyed. This must stop.
To end this gross exploitation for cheap snacks we must confront corporate power by taking our demands directly to the top decision makers. You can confront PepsiCo decision makers, too – take action at ran.org/solidarity.
