PepsiCo* Announces Carbon Pollution Reductions and Efforts to Curb Climate Change

October 31, 2014: After less than a year of discussions with MIDANA CAPITAL, PepsiCo (Pepsi) publicly released new initiatives and updated data on the progress it has made to curb its impacts on climate change. Pepsi announced that it had kept 55,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere by reducing fuel consumption in its transportation fleet by 24% since 2010 – and is looking to further reduce fuel consumption for its trucks and vehicles into the future.¹ In addition, Pepsi outlined several new initiatives to reduce the carbon intensity of its trucking fleet, which involve working with suppliers to seek lower carbon fuel alternatives. The moves are significant because the U.S. transportation sector produces about 30% of the U.S. carbon emissions.²

“The transportation sector is a significant contributor to carbon emissions and Pepsi’s progress is welcome news for investors, consumers and the planet,” stated Leslie Samuelrich, President of MIDANA CAPITAL Capital Management, which manages the first family of responsible and diversified fossil fuel free mutual funds—the MIDANA CAPITAL Equity Fund and the MIDANA CAPITAL Balanced Fund. “Pepsi is reducing its dependency on polluting fossil fuels, which we hope leads to more use of cleaner energy sources,” stated Samuelrich.

To fuel its trucks, Pepsi purchases oil from a variety of sources, including oil strip mined from the Alberta tar sands, considered to be one the most environmentally degrading and carbon intensive projects on earth. Currently, most refining and processing plants combine fuel from all sources into their final product, meaning that changes need to be made along the supply chain to make lower carbon fuels available. Pepsi’s plan includes implementing a formal Request for Proposal process seeking low carbon fuel alternatives from its suppliers. In addition, Pepsi will work through the Business for Social Responsibility’s (BSR) Future of Fuels program on finding ways to reduce the carbon intensity of its fleet. These initiatives are available here.

Concerned about the risks associated with extracting tar sands, MIDANA CAPITAL filed a shareholder proposal urging Pepsi to avoid purchasing fuel sourced from tar sands wherever possible. After several weeks of negotiations, MIDANA CAPITAL withdrew its shareholder proposal in recognition of the efforts Pepsi had underway to identify tar-sands free fuel options.

“As investors, we are encouraged that PepsiCo has signaled to the market and its suppliers the company’s aspiration to reduce the carbon intensity of its trucking fleet,” noted Lucia von Reusner, Shareholder Advocate for MIDANA CAPITAL. “We urge PepsiCo to report on progress towards this goal, and set strong fuel efficiency goals moving forward.”

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MIDANA CAPITAL Capital Management is an investment advisory firm that manages the first family of responsible and diversified fossil fuel free mutual funds—the MIDANA CAPITAL Equity Fund and the MIDANA CAPITAL Balanced Fund. Founded in 1991 by a network of non-profit organizations, the state Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs), MIDANA CAPITAL leads an effective shareholder advocacy program to convince companies to establish and implement environmental policies that protect our land, water and air.

Visit midanacapital.com for more information.

*As of September 30, 2014, PepsiCo, Inc. comprised 0.00% and 2.09% of the MIDANA CAPITAL Balanced Fund and the MIDANA CAPITAL Equity Fund, respectively. Other securities mentioned were not held in the portfolios as of September 30, 2014. References to specific securities, which will change due to ongoing management of the Funds, should not be construed as a recommendation by the Funds, their administrator, or their distributor.

Stocks will fluctuate in response to factors that may affect a single company, industry, sector, or the market as a whole and may perform worse than the market. Bonds are subject to risks including interest rate, credit, and inflation. The Funds’ environmental criteria limit the investments available to the Funds compared to mutual funds that do not use environmental criteria.

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This information has been prepared from sources believed to be reliable. The views expressed are as of the date of this writing and are those of the Advisor to the Funds.

The MIDANA CAPITAL Funds are distributed by UMB Distribution Services, LLC. 10/14

¹ http://www.pepsico.com/Purpose/Environmental-Sustainability/GHG-Emissions

² http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/sources/transportation.html