PepsiCo Reaffirms Water Stewardship Commitment
On March 22, PepsiCo reaffirmed its commitment to responsible water stewardship though an agenda of global initiatives.
"Water is critical to life and essential to our business," said PepsiCo Chair and Chief Executive Officer Indra Nooyi. "We recognize the impact of our business on each community in which we operate and likewise the impact of our communities on our business."
PepsiCo focuses its efforts in two main areas: using water more efficiently within its own operations and increasing access to clean water around the world.
Key aspects of this work are:
- Reducing water consumption per unit of production by 20 percent by 2015 as compared to 2006 consumption. Across the world, PepsiCo has saved nearly 1.5 billion gallons of water in 2007 compared to 2006.
- Sharing new technology, information, and employee initiatives to drive down water consumption and increase re-use. In the U.S., air-rinse and dry-lube technology to clean newly manufactured bottles is saving almost 150 million gallons of water per year in Gatorade manufacturing facilities across the country. Comprehensive "water mapping" at manufacturing facilities has helped pinpoint areas for manufacturing process innovation. In the U.K., PepsiCo's Walkers unit has reduced the amount of water used per kilogram of crisps by 42 percent between 2001 and 2007.
- Investing nearly $16 million to bring safe water to those in need in India and other emerging markets. This includes work with nonprofit organizations that are pioneering ways to dramatically increase access to clean water.
- Supporting policy initiatives, such as the United Nations CEO Water Mandate, which advocate stronger action on global water issues.