Perspectives by Tara Varghese, Global Water Stewardship Manager, PepsiCo
Over 844 million people lack access to clean water, that’s over 1 in every 10 people in the world. Over 30% of the world’s water sources are over-tapped and over-allocated. Climate change and environmental degradation are exacerbating these challenges.
Water scarcity issues are increasingly making headlines worldwide, impacting people, nature, and economies. However, there’s room for optimism. Achieving a water-secure future is possible, even with a growing global population. The key lies in treating water as a local resource and raising awareness. Informed water users can work together to ensure the long-term sustainability of their water supply.
PepsiCo has a longstanding commitment to water stewardship because water is essential throughout its value chain, from beverages to crop cultivation for food production.
PepsiCo strategy
Through our 2016 Performance with Purpose 2025 Agenda, PepsiCo is committed to achieving a Positive Water Impact. This means we’re dedicated to ensuring long-term, sustainable water security, not just for ourselves but for all who rely on water.
Our journey begins with our own operations. We’re striving for a 15% improvement in water-use efficiency in areas where water is in high demand in our agricultural supply chain. Building on our previous success of a 25% improvement in water use efficiency from 2006 to 2015, we’ve set an additional 25% improvement target by 2025.
However, our commitment goes even further. We aim to replenish 100% of the water we use in manufacturing operations located in high-water-risk regions, ensuring the replenishment occurs in the same watershed where extraction took place. This approach safeguards local ecosystems.
Multi-stakeholder approach
We collaborate with expert organizations like The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to make our efforts possible. TNC’s expertise in Latin America has allowed us to invest in natural infrastructure and water funds that safeguard water sources in regions facing scarcity, including Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic.
Additionally, we’ve partnered with TNC in the Colorado River Basin, through the Salt and Verde Alliance in Arizona, and conservation projects in Colorado. In India, our teams have implemented community water recharge and conservation projects across the country, focusing on watersheds supplying our high-water-risk facilities.
This kind of collaborative, multi-stakeholder action is essential for achieving widespread improvements in water sustainability. Business, communities, and the natural environment all rely on limited water resources, making it necessary for us to work together, innovate, and adapt to ensure a secure future.
Collaborative action
Various collective efforts like the CEO Water Mandate, the 2030 Water Resources Group, and projects by organizations like the World Resources Institute and the Pacific Institute are working together to address water challenges. Collaboration will be vital moving forward.
Summary
PepsiCo has consistently advocated for water access as a human right. We believe in the possibility of achieving both economic development and water security—they are interlinked. Despite the challenges, I remain optimistic that industry, government, communities, and civil society can collaborate to ensure equitable and sustainable access to water worldwide for years to come.
