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As a food and beverage company, PepsiCo SSA depends on water, and is acutely aware of the strain this could potentially place on the communities within which it operates. It thus has a target to become net water positive by 2030, in support of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 6.

In 2015, the United Nations launched a set of Sustainable Development Goals, which are intended to be achieved by 2030 and are supposed to act as a blueprint for a sustainable and positive future for all.  Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) is the goal of ensuring water and sanitation for all by 2030. However billions of people worldwide still live without safely managed drinking water, safely managed sanitation and basic hygiene services, especially in rural areas and least developed countries; and according to the UN, the current rates of progress need to quadruple in order to reach the global target of universal access by 2030.

PepsiCo recognizes water as a human right, and this is why it strives to have a positive water impact.

“By positive water impact we mean operating at best-in-class water use efficiency, both on the farms from where we source products, as well as in our factories,” explains Bridgitte Backman, Vice President of Corporate Affairs at PepsiCo SSA, and adds: “In addition we aim to achieve this by replenishing watersheds where we operate and collaborating with others to help close the gap on water security”.

In 2021, PepsiCo launched its Pepsico Positive platform – a strategic end-to-end transformation with sustainability at the centre of how it will create growth and value and inspiring positive change for the planet and people.

Within Pepsico Positive there are three guiding pillars, and water falls within the positive value chain pillar. As Backman explains, one of the ways the company is looking to achieve these targets is by looking at the four ways we use water:

“We are looking to improve our Agricultural water use efficiency - here we are working with our suppliers and agricultural partners to improve water-use efficiency in our supply chain in high-water risk areas”.

An example of this is through its Positive Agriculture Outcomes (PAO) Fund, whereby PepsiCo is testing a new irrigation technique that can help the potato farmers it works with save water, improve crop yields and lower their costs. “This technique will be piloted in Limpopo which is an area of growing water scarcity, this season. The technique which can be applied to existing pivot irrigation infrastructure and can improve farmers’ water use efficiency and watershed health.

The second way PepsiCo is addressing the water scarcity is via Manufacturing efficiency. “In 2021, we achieved 33 percent saving in water use across 37 production facilities in High Water Risk areas, compared to a 2015 baseline. This included reusing water from corn washing at our snacks sites, pasteurizer and cooling water recovery at our beverage sites re-use of waste-water for irrigation at our Upington site.” Says Backman.

In 2018, PepsiCo joined the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) with the aim to adopt the AWS’s globally-recognized best practice in water stewardship across its high water-risk facilities. “Currently 11 of our production facilities in high water-risk areas are in the process of adopting the Alliance for Water Stewardship Standard. With one having fully adopted it in 2020”.

In terms of Replenishment, during 2018 when Day Zero was looming in Cape Town, we became a founding member of the Greater Cape Town Water Fund. This investment supports nature-based solutions led by The Nature Conservancy, such as the removal of water-thirsty invasive alien plant species in the greater Cape Town watershed. “During 2021, we replenished close to 1.5 billion litres of water in the Western Cape water system through the removal of alien species of vegetation”.

Similarly, PepsiCo recently finalised a multi-year agreement with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to focus on improving water security in South Africa. The partnership aims to tackle some of the challenges linked to fresh water availability in the country.

“The funding will support the Water Source Area partnerships model of WWF South Africa over the next two and half years, and we are looking forward to seeing the results of this collaboration,” Says Backman

And finally PepsiCo is committed to providing Safe Water Access to communities, especially those in which it operates. With funding from PepsiCo’s philanthropic arm, the PepsiCo Foundation, a total of R6 million was invested in four individual projects aimed at providing safe water access.

“Together with our partner, National Business Initiative, we recently handed over 15 handwashing units and 35 foot operated standpipes to a community in Aliwal North; Working with World World Wildlife Fund (WWF) SA, we are working to provide 3 600 people in Matatiele, Eastern Cape with improved safe water access and hygiene practices.  65 000 people have received improved sanitation services in the Bloekombos and Wallacedene communities in the Western Cape through our partnership with SOS CT; and our project with the Water Research Commission in Ga-Moela, Limpopo has benefitted over 750 people through the provision of improved sanitation.”

“Through addressing the different ways in which we use water, we are moving closer to achieving our own goals as well as those of the UN’s SDG 6 one. Through this the conditions of our high risk watersheds will be improved, meaning more water is available to our value chain.” Concludes Backman.