In October 2013, as part of Oxfam’s Behind the Brands campaign, thousands of people joined the call for Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Associated British Foods to make sure the sugar in their products didn’t lead to land grabs that leave communities homeless and hungry.

After just one month of your pressure, Coca-Cola, the world’s largest purchaser of sugar, did what you asked and committed to “zero tolerance” for land grabs.

Then in March 2014, PepsiCo the second biggest food and beverage company in the world,  showed it listens to its customers as well  by also committing to put its full weight behind preventing land grabs in its supply chain.

ABF has already improved their land score by 2 points by stepping up to commit to the principle of free, prior and informed consent of communities to ensure that they have a say over their land. We remain in dialogue with ABF’s African sugar business to encourage them to take further steps to implement this policy.

These roadmaps show how these commitments by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo should become reality.  We’re looking forward to working with both companies to ensure they stick to their promises.  As Coca-Cola and PepsiCo moves from promises to action we’ll update this page to show progress, as well as any further movement from ABF as we continue to push them to take further steps.

Roadmap for the Coca-Cola Company’s commitments on land

IMMEDIATELY: Disclose top sourcing countries and suppliers Disclose the top 3 sugar cane suppliers and top 3 sourcing countries
31 DECEMBER 2013: Impact Assessment in Colombia and Guatemala Begin Human Rights Impact Assessments in Colombia and Guatemala
31 MARCH 2014: Make commitments reality Incorporate commitments on the principle of Free and Prior Informed Consent, and auditable land policy guidelines, into Supplier Code and Supplier Guidelines
31 MARCH 2014: Engage with others Join Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil
JUNE 2014: Publish internal company action plan Make public the internal company plan to implement changes to Supplier Code and Supplier Guidelines
OCTOBER 2014: Engage with others Participate in Committee on Food Security in October 2014 (including in Responsible Agriculture Investment working group) http://www.fao.org/cfs/cfs-home/resaginv/en/
31 OCTOBER 2014: Impact Assessment in Brazil Begin Human Rights Impact Assessments in Brazil
31 DECEMBER 2014: Publish Impact Assessment Publish Human Rights Impact Assessments in Colombia and Guatemala
31 DECEMBER 2014: Publish progress reports on disputes Release report on action taken in relation to the 3 disputes highlighted by Oxfam in Brazil and Cambodia
31 MARCH 2015: Impact Assessment in India Begin Human Rights Impact Assessment in India
31 DECEMBER 2015: Publish Impact Assessment Publish Human Rights Impact Assessment in Brazil
31 MARCH 2016: Publish impact assessment Begin Human Rights Impact Assessment in India
31 MARCH 2016: Impact Assessment in Mexico Begin Human Rights Impact Assessment in Mexico
31 DECEMBER 2016: Engage with others Advocate for industry wide commitment
31 DECEMBER 2016: Make suppliers public Publish list of all direct sugar cane suppliers
31 DECEMBER 2016: Make sourcing countries public Publish list of all sugar cane sourcing countries
31 MARCH 2017: Publish impact assessment Publish Human Rights Impact Assessment in Mexico
31 DECEMBER 2020: Publish impact assessment in South East Asia and elsewhere Conduct Human Rights Impact Assessments in Thailand, South Africa, Philippines, and eight other top sourcing countries.
2020: Commit to 100% sustainably sourced sugar Commit to 100% of sugar in all products to be from sustainable sources (Bonsucro:http://www.bonsucro.com/)

Roadmap for PepsiCo’s commitments on land

IMMEDIATELY: Disclose top sourcing volumes, countries and suppliers Disclose sourcing volume for sugar cane and the top 3 sugar cane suppliers and top 3 sourcing countries
Disclose sourcing volumes for palm oil and the top 3 palm oil suppliers and top 3 sourcing countries
Disclose sourcing volume for soy and the only soy supplier and only sourcing country
IMMEDIATELY: Publish and implement its new land policy Published on the company’s website
IMMEDIATELY: Improve the company’s Sustainable Farming Initiative Include detailed questions regarding land rights to evaluate direct farmer-suppliers on land issues
IMMEDIATELY: Commit to source 100% sustainable sugar cane by 2020 Starting in Brazil and Thailand
30 JUNE 2014: Start first Human Rights Impact Assessment related to land issues Brazil (sugar cane)
30 JUNE 2014: Make commitments a reality Incorporate commitments on the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent, and auditable land policy guidelines, into PepsiCo Responsible Sourcing Guideline (which includes PepsiCo Supplier Code of Conduct)Implement appropriate grievance mechanisms related to land disputes
31 OCTOBER 2014: Advocate toward private-sector and public-sector actors Support responsible land practices within industry groups and at Committee on World Food Security meetings
31 DECEMBER 2014: Publish critical findings of Human Rights Impact Assessment related to land issues Brazil (sugar cane)
30 JUNE 2015: Start second, third, and fourth Human Rights Impact Assessments related to land issues Thailand (sugar cane), Mexico (palm oil), and the Philippines (coconut water)
31 DECEMBER 2015: Issue progress report regarding commitment to achieve 100% sustainable sourcing in key commodities Sugar cane and palm oil
31 DECEMBER 2016: Publish critical findings of second, third, and fourth Human Rights Impact Assessments related to land issues Thailand (sugar cane), Mexico (palm oil), and the Philippines (coconut water)
2020: Publish realized commitment to achieve 100% sustainable sourcing in key commodities Sugar cane and palm oil