The GHAC APAC 2025 edition recently announced this year’s winning start-up, Beijing AIForce Technology at a ceremony in Shanghai, China.
The firm pulled ahead from among 10 finallists across Australia, China, Indonesia, Singapore, and South Korea to win the coveted US$100,000 prize.
Beijing AIForce’s winning innovation was autonomous, low-carbon e-tractors, an emerging solution for sustainable farming that showed encouraging results in initial tests including the combination of automation, affordability, and sustainability in an all-in-one solution.
PepsiCo APAC CEO Anne Tse highlighted that this innovation strongly aligns with PepsiCo’s global sustainability strategy pep+.
“This year’s winner reflects the journey of moving [a sustainable concept] from vision to viability, and adds to the momentum of a program that is now firmly embedded in APAC’s innovation ecosystem,” she said.
As part of the accelerator programme, not only the winning innovation but several other finalists have launched real-world pilot deployments of their projects with either PepsiCo or other industry partners.
GHAC 2025 start-ups that launched pilot tests:
- Beijing AIForce Technology: Autonomous electric tractors
- PHAbuilder Biotechnology: Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) film development
- Bali Waste Cycle: Low-value plastic (LVP) regeneration center
- Service Enviro SCAD: Transforming organic waste into a clean, nutrient-rich resource
“After three editions, the APAC Greenhouse Accelerator has shown that the real test of sustainability innovation is not the idea itself, but whether it works where it matters—in the field, on the line, and in the market,” Tse added.
“These real-world pilots provide valuable data, feedback, and commercial traction, helping startups refine strategies and accelerate growth.”
Start-up integration
PepsiCo views GHAC APAC as a key component of its sustainable strategy for the region.
“The Greenhouse Accelerator Program is driving how we advance pep+ in APAC. By giving early-stage innovators direct access to our business, we test and scale solutions that promote packaging circularity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and build climate-resilient agriculture,” PepsiCo Chief Sustainability Officer – APAC and India Ashley Brown said.
“Each edition expands this pipeline, with alumni and winners delivering pilots that align with the sustainability priorities of our industry and region.
The GHAC programme has also seen the successful integration of several start-up innovations into PepsiCo’s commercial value chains.
These include GHAC 2023 finallist Enwise which specialises in green natural gas production and works with PepsiCo facilities in China and Thailand; GHAC 2023 winner Powered Carbon that uses CO2-based soil enhancers in PepsiCo China potato farms; and GHAC 2024 winner Alterno with its sand-based thermal energy storage system piloted at PepsiCo Vietnam.
