Feel the Rising Water Pressure: How Business Must Lead in Conservation

by Roberta Barbieri, PepsiCo’s Vice President of Global Water and Environmental Solutions
Mar 31, 2017 10:00 AM ET

Feel the Rising Water Pressure: How Business Must Lead in Conservation

Industry can take a lead in local management by using water more efficiently, replenishing what it consumes where it consumes it, and supporting natural resource governance. These efforts must be part of a company's global water strategy but designed and implemented locally. 

PepsiCo relies on water — in agriculture, to grow ingredients for our foods and beverages, in the manufacturing processes that turn those ingredients into our products, and as a key ingredient in most of our beverages. We’ve set a goal to locally replenish the water we consume in high-water-risk areas. Local is the key word here: For the water we consume in Peru, we'll replenish it in Peru, not in Pakistan.

We'll do it through local alliances — inviting NGOs, community leaders and governing authorities to understand what is driving water insecurity and then invest in locally relevant solutions. Our work with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in some of the most water-stressed urban areas in Latin America is a good example of watershed-level replenishment — but it’s just the beginning.

Continue reading Roberta's article on sustainablebrands.com.