PepsiCo Beverages North America Announces $1.5 Million Partnership with Water Replenishment District of Southern California to Help Protect the State's Most Used Basins

PURCHASE, N.Y., Jan. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- PepsiCo Beverages North America (PBNA) announced today a $1.5 million grant to the Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD), the largest groundwater agency in the state of California, to help manage and protect local groundwater resources to more than four million residents.

"Partnering with the Water Replenishment District of Southern California will not only help enable long-term, sustainable water security for local communities who depend on an accessible and reliable supply of clean, safe water," said Johannes Evenblij, President of West Division at PepsiCo Beverages North America, "but it will also be critical in the advancement our pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) Net Water Positive ambition to reduce absolute water use and replenish back into the local watershed more than 100% of the water we use. As a food and beverage company, we're acutely aware of the critical role water plays in the southern California ecosystem, and our community."

The partnership will improve drought resiliency and pilot WRD's first inland injection well for utilization of in-ground storage. When complete, the project will store an average of 325,851 gallons of water per year for municipal and indirect use, drought resiliency and mitigation.

"The Water Replenishment District is proud to be the first public agency to receive a water sustainability grant from PepsiCo," said Water Replenishment District Board President John D.S. Allen. "This grant will help build our region's drought resilience for years to come. The WRD Board of Directors commend and applaud PepsiCo for their commitment to protecting our watershed."

PepsiCo is focused on improving water-use efficiency, local replenishment in water-scarce areas, public education, advocacy for smart water policies, and adoption of best practices with community partners. Example sustainable PepsiCo partnerships include:

• Arbor Day Foundation: PBNA and PepsiCo Foods North America (PFNA) supported ADF's replanting of two million trees in the burn scars of the Carr and Camp Fire wildfires that devastated Northern California in 2018.
• California Water Action Collaborative: PBNA is part of CWAC, a coalition of industry, nonprofit, and governmental organizations investing in efforts throughout California that yield positive return for water quality and quantity.
• The Nature Conservancy: PBNA collaborates with TNC as part of the Salt and Verde Alliance, a partnership that brings together companies, farmers, communities, and other organizations to help protect the Salt and Verde watersheds of the arid western United States.

To learn more about PepsiCo sustainability, please visit www.pepsico.com/pepsicopositive. 

About Water Replenishment District of Southern CaliforniaFor over 60 years The Water Replenishment District (WRD) has managed and protected groundwater resources in two of the most utilized groundwater basins in the nation. Groundwater from these basins provides nearly half of the drinking water for 4 million residents in 43 cities of southern Los Angeles County. Through WRD's Water Independence Now (WIN) Program, the District has developed a resilient and locally sustainable source of water for groundwater replenishment.

About PepsiCoPepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $70 billion in net revenue in 2020, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker, Tropicana, and SodaStream. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 23 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales. Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Convenient Foods and Beverages by Winning with Purpose. "Winning with Purpose" reflects our ambition to win sustainably in the marketplace and embed purpose into all aspects of our business strategy and brands. For more information, visit pepsico.com.

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SOURCE PepsiCo, Inc.