Campaign: PepsiCo Dream Machine Recycling Program
Company: PepsiCo, Freedom Valu Centers and Waste Management
Nonprofit Partner: Keep America Beautiful and The Entreprenuership Bootcamp for Veterans w/ Disabilities (EBV)
Launch Date: Fall 2011
[/box]Campaign Description:
Consumers in Minnesota will be the latest in a national roll-out to be rewarded for recycling their cans and bottles at a computerized “Dream Machine” at 19 Freedom Valu locations. For each can recycled, consumers will earn points that can then be redeemed for local discounts on entertainment, dining and travel. The more bottles and cans people recycle in Dream Machines, the more support PepsiCo will provide to the EBV, a program offering free, experiential training in entrepreneurship to post-9/11 veterans with disabilities.
Our Take:
There is some serious partnership power behind the Dream Machine initiative, well aligned with each brand involved. PepsiCo's goal is to raise the U.S. beverage container recycling rate to 50% by 2018. Changing consumer behavior has proven tremendously difficult so the incentives behind this recycling initiative are well warranted. We're curious about whether PepsiCo's donation to EBV is based on a minimum level of consumer participation, a flat rate or a per item contribution.
UPDATE: We’ve found out from PepsiCo that the company has committed to donate $500,000 a year to EBV. In answer to our question, about how consumer recycling relates to additional donations, we’ve learned that for every 10 million pounds of PET and aluminum collected through the Dream Machine initiative, PepsiCo will give an additional $250,000 to the veterans organization.