PepsiCo to provide water to 3 million people by 2015

Cola major PepsiCo has unveiled global plans to provide access to safe water to three million people in developing countries by 2015. The company has also announced plans to bring down its water consumption in production.

PepsiCo announced recently that it would continue to make efforts to arrive at positive water balance in its operations in water-distressed areas.

It will be a welcome step as the company, along with its main rival Coca Cola, has often been accused of exploitation of water resources around some of its manufacturing plants. The two cola majors have been under intense pressure in India, where they have both been separately announcing plans to arrive at a positive water balance -- recharging water levels in areas where their plants have become controversial as much as they have been taking from the soil.

The company said during 2011, the PepsiCo Foundation will reach its goal of providing access to safe water and sanitation to 1 million people through support of several partners. It has been working with several partners, spread across countries, in projects that seek to enhance access to water and sanitation facilities to local communities.

A statement issued by the company said it had set a global goal in 2007 to reduce water consumption by 20 per cent per unit of production by 2015. To date, the company has achieved a more than 15 per cent improvement in water use efficiency as compared to the company's 2006 baseline, it added.

Some of its global partners include Water.org, Safe Water Network, The Energy Resources Institute, China Women's Development Foundation and the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Together, they have been helping install village water and irrigation systems, establishing water health centers, constructing rainwater harvesting cisterns, improve sanitation programs and recharge aquifers in developing communities, particularly in Ghana, Kenya, Brazil, China and India.

The announcements by the company come against a backdrop of increased focus of corporate role in sustainable development. Companies are now being held accountable for mismanagement of water resources, particularly in water-starved regions.