PepsiCo's $8 Million Water.org Commitment Boosts India

PepsiCo's $8 Million Water.org Commitment Boosts India

Pollution, waste and poor management leaves one in eight people lacking access to safe water, according to the United Nations. PepsiCo finds that statistic unacceptable.

Its latest philanthropic initiative is targeting India, where PepsiCo achieved a positive water balance in 2009, giving back to communities more water than it consumed in its manufacturing processes, a significant milestone in its growing water stewardship by implementing sustainable water initiatives, reducing wasteful water use and recycling where possible, in addition to other measures.

Increasing that commitment, PepsiCo just announced an $8 million donation to Water.org, the non-profit co-founded by actor/activist Matt Damon, to be used for micro-loans with a goal of providing 800,000 Indian families safe water by 2016.

The WaterCredit model enables the poorest of the poor to tap into existing water lines, avoiding hours of lost employment spent