PURCHASE, N.Y., Sept. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at the Stockholm International Water Institute's annual World Water Week, PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) announced the company's latest Water Report and unveiled Hydro-BID, a ground-breaking data management and modeling tool developed in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) that estimates the availability of freshwater in water-scarce regions throughout Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
The IDB's Hydro-BID is an open-source modeling tool that has the potential to forecast water availability and supply in the LAC region under virtually any climate, population and land use scenario. To date, the tool has projected water supplies in Brazil, Peru, Haiti and Argentina, and is expected to impact more than three million people across the LAC region by 2017.
PepsiCo Foundation's $5 Million grant to IDB's AquaFund is contributing to fund pilot projects, in partnership with the governments of Switzerland and Austria, in five countries and will reach approximately 500,000 beneficiaries by the end of 2015. While some projects are aimed to improve access to safe water and sanitation services for scattered communities in extreme poverty, other projects like Hydro-BID present an unparalleled effort to develop a suite of watershed modeling tools that could be applied worldwide.
In addition to aiding countries with water budgeting and water-resource planning, Hydro-BID helps policymakers and communities prepare for floods and droughts. "Contrary to popular belief, floods and droughts are foreseeable phenomena that governments and communities can prepare for," said Dr. Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm, Hydrologist and Water Resources Engineer at IDB. "Not only will Hydro-BID help communities prepare for natural disasters, but it will also help public utility and water managers get a better handle on water planning and budgets. Through the support of partners like the PepsiCo Foundation, the IDB is able to develop and implement innovative solutions and approaches like Hydro-BID that will forecast water availability, aid infrastructure projects, and drive local and regional economic goals."
As a global food and beverage company dependent on water-intensive agricultural activities, PepsiCo seeks to drive water efficiency in its operations and throughout its supply chain, as part of the company's public commitment to help protect and conserve global water supplies. In fact, water stewardship is a critical component of PepsiCo's approach to sustainable business development—what it calls "Performance with Purpose"—and one way the company strives to "future-proof" the business in today's competitive, resource-scarce world.
"Water is a critical global resource and few challenges are as significant as the global water crisis," said Dan Bena, Senior Director, Sustainable Development and Operations Outreach at PepsiCo. "Water is also a central part of our business, and we know that we need to be water stewards in order to sustain our business and the communities of which we are a part."
To learn more about PepsiCo's Water Report, partnerships, holistic water stewardship and measurement framework around safe water investments, click here: http://www.pepsico.com/Purpose/Environmental-Sustainability/Water
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $66 billion in net revenue in 2013, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.
At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose – our goal to deliver top-tier financial performance while creating sustainable growth in shareholder value. In practice, Performance with Purpose means providing a wide range of foods and beverages from treats to healthy eats; finding innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment and reduce our operating costs; providing a safe and inclusive workplace for our employees globally; and respecting, supporting and investing in the local communities where we operate. For more information, visit: www.pepsico.com
About the PepsiCo Foundation
Established in 1962, the PepsiCo Foundation is the philanthropic anchor of PepsiCo, responsible for providing charitable contributions to eligible non-profit organizations. The Foundation is committed to developing sustainable partnerships and programs in underserved regions that provide opportunities for improved health, environment and education. For more information, please visit: http://www.pepsico.com/Purpose/Global-Citizenship
About the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
The IDB is the main source of multilateral financing and expertise for economic, social and environmental sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its evolving development agenda prioritizes reducing poverty and inequality, ensuring sustainable development, addressing sustainable energy and climate change, addressing the special needs of the poorest countries, promoting regional integration, and fostering development through the private sector. The IDB offers exceptional opportunities for partnership in areas of high social impact, leveraging its unique financial strength as the largest source of development financing, history of collaboration with regional governments, and commitment to accelerating development in Latin America and the Caribbean. For more information, please visit: www.iadb.org/partnerships
About AquaFund
AquaFund provides grants that contribute to the achievement of the water-related Millennium Development Goals and the targets established under the IDB's Water and Sanitation Initiative. It facilitates investment in water supply and sanitation, water resources management, solid waste management, and wastewater treatment in Latin American and the Caribbean. AquaFund resources can be used for technical assistance, policy and capacity development, knowledge creation and dissemination, project preparation and community pilot projects. Government entities, water and sanitation service providers (public, private, mixed-capital, cooperatives), and academic and research institutions are eligible to receive AquaFund grants. NGOs may be eligible at the request of governments. For more information, please visit: www.iadb.org/aquafund
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SOURCE PepsiCo