 "Photo: Courtesy Photo")
Pepsi Bottling Group CEO Eric Foss visited the Mays Business School Friday to talk with MBA students about business in today's market and donate $10,000 to The Big Event for the second time.
"We want to create a better place to live," Foss said, who made his first $10,000 donation to The Big Event in 2007. "That community approach varies by market, but the reality is we take sustainability very seriously."
The donation will help The Big Event, the nation's top student-run service project led by Texas A&M students, have an even bigger impact, Foss said.
"The things we spend our time and efforts on are really three things in terms of environment: water conservation, which we've pushed forward very aggressively in the last 12 months; energy, we're one of the largest buyers of renewable energy credits in the world and are testing some alternative energy vehicles now; and from a packaging standpoint, we focus on recycling and light-weighting our bottles so that we have a better impact on the environment," Foss said.
Big Event Director Mallory Myers said the money will be spent on tools, efforts in recruiting students and go directly toward service projects in the Bryan-College Station area.
"It will definitely help the function in 2010," Myers said. "We only found out we were getting it on Monday, so we don't know exactly how we're going to use it yet, but it will definitely let us stretch our wings and do things we won't have been able to without it."
Mays Business School students were able to ask questions and engage with Foss one-on-one.
"We bring over 200 businesspeople to Mays each year," said Mays Business School Dean Jerry Strawser. "We feel that the combination of an education provided by high quality faculty, along with the perspectives of business leaders such as Mr. Foss, is important in our students' personal and professional development."
When asked about Pepsi's role in the obesity epidemic in America, Foss said there was no correlation between the two.
"Something that's misinterpreted by a lot of folks, including the government, is that it's about balance. It's about choice. Nobody wants to have what they consume from a food or beverage standpoint legislated. They just don't. People don't want to be told what to drink," Foss said. "The reality is regular soft drinks have declined nine percent since the year 2000. Meanwhile, obesity's gone up. The reality is they're not bad for you. It's all about moderation."
Foss was also asked why Pepsi distributes in developing and impoverished countries.
"We are providing an invaluable service to the community by making sure people have beverages that they can consume in an environment where many people don't have access to it," Foss said.
Pepsi Bottling Group operates in seven countries and accounts for about 40 percent of Pepsi-Cola beverages sold worldwide.
"There are three things I think Pepsi Bottling Group and Texas A&M have in common - one is values, it's really our cultures; the second is, we both are focused on unquenchable results; and the third is an unquenchable spirit to do the right thing for the individual or the community," Foss said.
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