Women foundation appoints Pepsi CEO charity ambassador

During the event, PepsiCo GCR committed to donate an additional 1.3 million yuan ($212,500) to CWDF to support the safe water access project in the earthquake areas of Ludian, Yunnan province through a combination of contributions from PepsiCo GCR, GCR associates, and the PepsiCo Foundation, all of whom believe strongly in the mission of the CWDF and are committed to assisting the communities in the region that were impacted by the recent earthquakes.

PepsiCo has been supporting the MWC project of the CWDF since 2001. It is the first Fortune 500 global corporation to participate in the project and one of its first strategic partners. As of the end of 2013, the PepsiCo Foundation, PepsiCo GCR and associates had together donated nearly 53 million yuan ($8.7 million) to the MWC project, which has supported the construction of over 1,500 water cellars, the building or upgrading some 170 small-scale safe water sites, construction of over 90 campus-based safe water projects and training of more than 170,000 rural residents, benefitting more than 717,000 people in 10 provinces and autonomous regions, namely Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu, Guizhou, Guangxi, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Chongqing and Shaanxi.

Since its launch in 2000, the MWC project has received wide-spread attention and recognition, including winning China's top charity award. As of 2014, the MWC project had mobilized 850 million yuan ($139 million) in funds, supporting the construction of over 135,000 rainwater cellars and over 1,650 small-scale centralized water supply projects in 25 provinces (autonomous regions or centrally administered municipalities), most of which in the western regions, and directly benefiting almost 2.4 million people.

The CWDF donation is also part of PepsiCo's global water stewardship strategy. Over the years, PepsiCo has committed itself to helping local communities improve safe water access with grants from the PepsiCo Foundation, and has introduced water and energy conservation programs into its own operations by building green plants. Today, PepsiCo GCR already has 5 LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design of the US Green Building Council) "green plants" in its food and beverage operations. Consuming at least 20 percent less water and energy than other qualified plants, the PepsiCo green plants have set a new industry standard in China. In the meantime, PepsiCo GCR is also working with the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture to promote water-saving irrigation projects in the agricultural sector. With the application of drip and sprinkler irrigation technologies, PepsiCo's potato farms in China use 50 percent less water compared to other farms using the traditional flood irrigation.