The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

The supply, demand and quality of water defines its availability within a watershed – for people, nature and companies. It's important that private sector companies understand the impact they have on their local watersheds, and the importance of protecting freshwater sources to help ensure that the company will continue to have the water it needs to support its operations and supply chain.

PepsiCo was one of the first companies of its size to formally and publicly acknowledge water as a human right, thereby accepting the responsibility to help ensure that all watershed stakeholders have enough clean water to meet their basic human needs.

In 2009, PepsiCo developed goals around a straightforward premise: To respect the human right to water through world-class efficiency in the company’s operations, preserving water resources and enabling access to safe water. Specific commitments are:

• Improving water use efficiency by 20 percent per unit of production by 2015;
• Striving for “positive water balance” in operations in water-distressed areas; and
• Providing access to safe water to 3 million people in developing countries by the end of 2015.

Looking to have an impact over their own water usage, PepsiCo partnered with The Nature Conservancy to launch five Positive Water Impact pilot projects focused on understanding the watershed conditions and restoration opportunities for a group of diverse manufacturing plants in different parts of the world. Positive Water Impact recognizes that beyond simply having enough water, people need to have water that’s clean and safe to use. This connection between quantity and quality echoes the sufficiency and safety pillars of the human right to water, and is directly linked to water sources and their protection—topics in which The Nature Conservancy’s leadership is globally recognized.

For a full report on all of Pepsi and the Conservancy’s work together, read the corporate case study.