PepsiCo, one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies, has announced its commitment to become a ‘Net Water Positive’ company by 2030, with the goal of recycling more water than it uses. Thus, PepsiCo will take its place among the food and beverage manufacturers operating in high-risk basins and using water most
PepsiCo, one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies, has added a new one to its environmental sustainability goals. Aiming to be a ‘net water positive’ company by 2030, by committing to reduce absolute water use, as well as to recycle more than 100% of the water used in high-risk areas, PepsiCo will become one of the most water-efficient food and beverage companies in the world with this approach.
Water management is the top priority in all operations
Underlining that the time is running out for the world to act on water, PepsiCo Director of Sustainability Jim Andrew said: “Water is not only a critical component of our food system, it is also a fundamental human right. The worldwide shortage of safe and clean water is one of the most pressing problems facing today’s society. Water scarcity is directly linked to the climate crisis, and we at PepsiCo believe a global effort is needed to become a ‘net water positive’ company. We focus not only on ensuring that people around the world have access to this vital resource, but also on making sure that we prioritize water management in our operations around the world.”
More than 11 billion liters of water recovery
Efficiency efforts to reduce water use will be driven by the adoption of best-in-class or globally accepted operational standards for water use efficiency, covering more than 1,000 of the company’s facilities and 3rd party businesses, nearly half of which are located in high- risk watershed. Even raising the efficiency standard at its facilities operating in high-risk basins alone will reduce the amount of water PepsiCo uses at these sites by 50% and save more than 11 billion liters of water per year. PepsiCo also aims to adopt the Alliance for Water Stewardship Standard by 2025 in all high water risk areas in which it operates.
“Aim; Access to safe water for 100 million people by 2030”
PepsiCo’s holistic “Net Water Positive” vision and its goals include ensuring that 100 million people have access to safe water by 2030. Continuing to work for the welfare of disadvantaged people around the world as well as its environmental sustainability approach, PepsiCo is launching a new $1 million program to provide safe water to families in Sub-Saharan Africa, through its long-term partner, the non-governmental organization WaterAid, through the PepsiCo Foundation. With the new program, PepsiCo is expanding its safe water access initiative, which has reached more than 20 countries and more than 59 million people in the 15 years since 2006, valued at more than $53 million. This investment, which will provide financing and education opportunities for the future of water access points and sanitation facilities, will also empower women and girls to become water, sanitation and hygiene advocates in their communities.
The new program is launching at a sensitive time as the worldwide spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant poses a special risk to water-stressed communities. Many communities, such as those in Sub-Saharan Africa, lack the infrastructure or resources of water for disease prevention and treatment. For example, approximately 70% of the houses in these regions do not have a place where family members can wash their hands with soap and water. Given the importance of hand washing and disinfection in the fight against the pandemic, this makes society extremely vulnerable to spikes in COVID-19. This problem is compounded by the slow progress of vaccination in the region.