I recently returned from the Solutions for Sustainable Water Use conference in Brussels, where I had the opportunity to share best practices and learn about different approaches to water stewardship from our peers in the beverage industry, EU officials, academics and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The event was organized by the Inter-Press Service and Global Compact Network, supported by Anheuser-Busch InBev.
The central theme that emerged at the conference was supply-chain water challenges – a top-of-mind issue for the beverage industry and PepsiCo. Iris Van der Veken, Chair of Global Compact Network Belgium, and Karl Falkenberg, Director General of Environment for the European Commission, focused on the human right to water and how it will become more difficult – and expensive – to guarantee this right in the future. At PepsiCo, we recognize this challenge and are planning for the growing global population who will put even more stress on water supplies. In May 2009, we became the first company of our size to publicly declare water as a human right. Last year, we also committed to global water goals organized around the premise of respecting the human right to water through world-class efficiency in our operations, preserving water resources and enabling access to safe water.
During a session focused on best practices in sharing limited resources, Jean-Christophe Bligny, Environment Director of Danone Waters and I presented our companies’ ongoing work in preserving and restoring the watersheds. Professor Maarten Siebel of UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education shared insights on household water use and reuse and cited an interesting case study from Palestine, where annual per capita water use is 75 percent lower than in Western Europe. Sergio Jellinek of the World Bank described Comm4Dev, a program that has proven effective in promoting hand washing in Peru and ensuring good governance and accountability through ‘citizen report cards’ in Pakistan.
Some of PepsiCo’s peers discussed how they are reducing water use and pollution through water savings initiatives. For example, Wells and Young’s, a craft brewer located outside London, focused on reducing their water use through common-sense practices like recycling and detection and repair of leaks. Anheuser-Busch InBev, a global brewer with many manufacturing sites, discussed its company-wide sustainability practices. Both companies have goals analogous to those addressed by PepsiCo’s ReCon program, which focuses on reducing energy and water consumption along with greenhouse gas emissions and solid waste generation.
In a session focused on partnerships for sustainable water use, Stuart Orr of WWF International noted that the beverage industry has been particularly active in forming associations and establishing corporate policies aimed at cutting water use. “From now and into the future, our lives are going to be determined by increased water scarcity,” he said. At PepsiCo, we are particularly aware of this responsibility to be water stewards and will continue to focus on innovative ways to protect this natural resource.
Through strategic public-private partnership, and pledging more than $15 million to safe water and sanitation initiatives, we are helping to advance our Promise goals focused on water. Since 2005, we have worked with organizations like the Safe Water Network, Water.org and many others to provide access to clean water to one million people. While we believe that our efforts have constructed a solid foundation, we recognize that PepsiCo has much more to do in order to achieve our ambitious goals and ensure that future generations have enough water for survival. Stay tuned for more exciting progress!
