- The Safe Water Access Program will promote water as a fundamental human right and focus on three key aspects of safe water access
- 20,000 people and 3,000 children to benefit from improved access to safe water for drinking and household usage
PepsiCo Foundation has announced an investment of Rs 2.9 crores ($400,000) to expand its safe water access and sustainable sanitation program in Uttar Pradesh, India. The partnership with Pandit Jagat Ram Memorial FORCE Trust aims to improve access to fresh water for drinking and domestic purposes for over 20,000 people and 3,000 children across 13 villages in Mathura district over three years. The program will also focus on creating awareness of sanitation, solid waste management, and hygiene practices, with the goal of empowering local communities in the region.
The program will focus on three priority campaigns of the Government of India: the Jal Jeevan Mission, Jal Shakti Mission, and Swachh Bharat Mission. The partnership aims to provide improved access to fresh water for drinking and domestic purposes, impacting over 20,000 people and 3,000 children across 13 villages in Mathura district over a period of three years. The Program supports PepsiCo’s pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) ambition to reach 100 million people worldwide with safe water access by 2030.
Water Risk Communities
The Safe Water Access Program will promote water as a fundamental human right and focus on three key aspects of safe water access: conservation, distribution, and purification. The program will help advance access in water risk communities in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. Another key focus is the development of a sustainable system to enable groundwater recharge of 20 million liters of harvested rainwater in the area.
Empower Local Communities
The partnership will also create WASH awareness (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), focusing on sanitation, solid waste management, and hygiene practices with water quality, safety, and personal health behaviors impacting 50,000 people and 3,000 children. As part of the WASH efforts, the program will identify 400 women and girls as Menstrual Hygiene Management Guides and 400 youth as WASH Guardians to create a strong support ecosystem in their communities.
Water Security and Economic Empowerment
C.D. Glin, President of PepsiCo Foundation, highlighted the company’s global goal to be Net Water Positive by 2030, helping replenish more water than the company uses. The partnership with Pandit Jagat Ram Memorial FORCE Trust aims to drive lasting and local impact in the community at the intersection of providing critical safe water access and driving economic empowerment in the process.
Safe Water Access
Since August 2021, PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation have created more than a dozen new programs to reform the company’s water-use efficiency, replenishment, and safe water access efforts. The company has also piloted N-Drip’s high-efficiency drip irrigation system in India, Vietnam, and the U.S., with an aim to help farmers adopt the technology across 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) by 2025.
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo is a global food and beverage company with a complementary portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker Tropicana, and SodaStream. Guided by the vision to Be the Global Leader in Convenient Foods and Beverages by Winning with Purpose, PepsiCo aims to embed purpose into all aspects of its business strategy and brands.
(India CSR)