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PepsiCo and World Water Day 2013: International Year of Cooperation

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The theme for World Water Day 2013, the International Year of Cooperation, suits PepsiCo perfectly. I’ve written in the past about the importance of collaboration if we are to have a chance of successfully addressing the global water crisis. PepsiCo understands that by working together, we can make the biggest impact on global challenges like water.

Many others believe that businesses like ours have a role to play in this effort. I was recently at a UN meeting where I heard a leader in our field say, “We have all come around to the fact that there cannot be real progress [in the global crises we face] without collaboration with the private sector…you all know how to make things happen in diverse environments, and run things efficiently.”

But actions need to be taken that make an impact.

At PepsiCo, we take our role of water stewardship very seriously. For example, last year we exceeded our company-wide water efficiency goal a full four years ahead of schedule. With the help of a variety of technologies, including our Resource Conservation tool, and the committed passion of our associates, we improved our water use efficiency by nearly 21%, representing a savings of over four billion gallons of water – enough to fill 16 Empire State Buildings.

We are applying water-saving technology throughout our agricultural operations. One example is i-crop, a technology developed through collaboration with Cambridge University, which helps farmers deliver just the right amount of water to the root zones of the crops when the crops need it.  Our global agro teams are also partnering with growers to evolve to drip irrigation, a method that can save up to 70% of the water used over traditional methods.

Last year our progress was recognized in some very high profile ways. We were honored with both the Stockholm Industry Water Award and the US Water Prize from the US Water Alliance. These awards would not have been possible without creative, collaborative partnerships.

While so many of our efforts are grounded in best business practices, we’ve also made great strides in communities around the world. Many of these initiatives are led by PepsiCo’s philanthropic arm, the PepsiCo Foundation, which is helping to create partnerships that provide access to water to three million people.

Next week, on March 28, we’ll be talking about some of this work with one of our premier partners – the Columbia Water Center at Columbia University Earth Institute’s “State of the Planet” Conference. The PepsiCo Foundation is sponsoring the event and the theme is Water Security. See www.stateoftheplanet.org for more information. And to check out a snapshot of our work with Columbia Water Center, see this info graphic: http://multimedia.pepsico.com/public/asset_id/1853

Water is truly a global issue, and our colleagues around the world are also recognizing World Water Day. In AMEA and the South America, Caribbean and Central America regions, our teams have developed internal awareness campaigns to educate associates and their families about the value of water and PepsiCo’s global efforts. Several offices will be screening a documentary called Water Pressures that features several PepsiCo executives and shows college students in the U.S. learning about water issues (you can see the trailer here).

Lastly, ending on the theme of partnerships, please have a look at some of our core partners talking about our work together:

Happy World Water Day… we should all feel proud.


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