The FINANCIAL — PURCHASE, N.Y., June 18, 2018 — PepsiCo announced it has expanded access to safe water1 to nearly 16 million people in some of the world’s most water-stressed areas, including 10 million people in India, since it launched its Performance with Purpose vision in 2006. The company has invested more than $40 million in safe water access solutions with strategic partners as part of its goal to support a total of 25 million people with safe water access by 2025.
As a result of current water use habits, population growth and the effects of climate change, a staggering four billion people are affected by water scarcity2 and by 2050, global demand for water will increase by as much as 50 percent3. Two-thirds of the world’s population currently lives in areas that experience water scarcity for at least one month a year and about half of those affected live in China and India4.
To reach more individuals in need, the PepsiCo Foundation announced today a $4.2 million grant to WaterAid, a leading international water and sanitation non-governmental organization, to provide clean water access to communities in southern India facing extreme water shortages, specifically in Palakkad, Nelamangala, and Sri City, according to Pepsico.
Water scarcity and sustainable management of water resources is a critical challenge that India is grappling with. This grant from the PepsiCo Foundation seeks to implement solutions that will help increase access to clean water for more than 200,000 people; build community and government capacity to manage water resources; and educate community members to adopt sustainable sanitation and hygiene practices.
In addition, the PepsiCo Foundation announced last week an additional $2 million donation to the China Women’s Development Foundation, an organization PepsiCo has been working with since 2001. PepsiCo is the first Fortune 500 global corporation to participate in their flagship “Water Cellars for Mothers” initiative, which provides safe and effective solutions to improve water access in areas with no water infrastructure for nnow, according to Pepsico.
The new investment seeks to provide access to safe water to more than 10 million people by 2025 by improving environmental conditions near the Danjiangkou Water Reservoir, where small water sources are often contaminated. The program has become an important supplement to the Chinese government’s safe water access project and a role model for philanthropic collaboration between the government, businesses and NGOs.
As part of its signature platform, Performance with Purpose, PepsiCo helps communities effectively conserve, manage, and distribute water across the United States, Latin America, China and India with a portfolio of partners including Safe Water Network, Water.org, WaterAid, China Women’s Development Foundation, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Nature Conservancy and the 2030 Water Resources Group.
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