PepsiCo, Inc. announced that the company has achieved its previously stated goal of partnering to provide access to safe water to three million people in developing countries by the end of 2015.
Given the company's strong progress to date, PepsiCo also announced a new commitment to provide access to safe water to an additional three million people over the next three years through continued partnerships with water organizations, doubling the company's original goal.
PepsiCo has achieved this milestone as a result of its Performance with Purpose strategy, which is the company's goal to deliver sustained financial performance by providing a wide range of foods and beverages from treats to healthy eats; finding innovative ways to minimize PepsiCo's impact on the environment and lower the company's costs through energy and water conservation, as well as reduced packaging; providing a safe and inclusive workplace for employees globally; and respecting, supporting and investing in the local communities in which PepsiCo operates.
Through the PepsiCo Foundation, PepsiCo has identified projects and partners to provide access to safe water to millions of people through initiatives that include water conservation, distribution, purification and hygiene for underserved communities in China, India, Mali, Brazil, Colombia, and other Latin American countries.
The announcement was made in conjunction with the Columbia University Earth Institute at their State of the Planet Conference, which is being sponsored by the PepsiCo Foundation. The Earth Institute and the PepsiCo Foundation have had a successful working relationship on water-related projects since the Foundation's $6 million grant in 2008 helped found the Columbia Water Center.
"By respecting and acting on the interdependence of corporations and the societies in which we operate, we have made great progress in recent years to position PepsiCo to deliver sustainable long-term performance," said PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi. "We continue to find innovative ways to reduce costs and minimize our impact on the environment, and our comprehensive approach to water stewardship is enabling PepsiCo to play a positive role in addressing water scarcity while also increasing the efficiency of our business operations."
"Thanks to the support of the PepsiCo Foundation, the Columbia Water Center is helping to solve some of the world's greatest water challenges," said Jeffrey Sachs , director of the Earth Institute. "Water is central to economic development and human well-being, with water issues becoming even more important in the context of climate change, urbanization and population growth. From Gujarat, India to Ceara, Brazil the Columbia Water Center is using the latest science and technology to create new policies to conserve groundwater for agriculture; cope with extreme floods; promote water and energy savings; develop hydroclimatic data; create financial instruments to mitigate risk; and manage urban and rural water systems. The announcement with the PepsiCo Foundation is a clarion call to the public and private sectors that we need to share the responsibility of sustainably using the resources of our planet, especially those like water that are increasingly under stress. We're proud to be working with PepsiCo on addressing the challenges of water and sustainable development more generally."
PepsiCo has been widely recognized for the company's water stewardship initiatives. Last year, PepsiCo received the prestigious Stockholm Industry Award, which honors the business sector's contribution to sustainable water management, improved performance in production, and innovative approaches in water process technologies.
The steps PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation have taken to improve public access to clean water and to conserve water across the company's business operations include:
- Forming partnerships with organizations around the world to spur community development and address environmental issues. In addition to the Columbia Water Center, PepsiCo also works closely on water-related programs with the China Women's Development Foundation, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Safe Water Network, and Water.org.
- Installing village water and irrigation systems, establishing water health centers, constructing rainwater harvesting cisterns, improving sanitation programs and recharging aquifers.
- Improving global water use efficiency in PepsiCo's operations by more than 20 percent per unit of production, from a 2006 baseline, achieving its water goal a full four years ahead of schedule.
- Conserving nearly 16 billion liters of water in the company's operations in 2011, from a 2006 baseline, through the application of water-saving equipment and technologies, creative recycling and re-use, and by deploying a water management system throughout its manufacturing facilities.
- Reducing the company's water and energy-related costs by more than $45 million in 2011, compared to 2006.
- Innovating a variety of agricultural practices and technologies around the world that are designed to reduce water use in farming through new irrigation techniques, and tools that help farmers deliver fertilizer and water to their crops at the most efficient time.
