PepsiCo Foundation Awards $5 Million Grant to Support All-China Women's Federation

BEIJING, June 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The PepsiCo Foundation today announced a $5 million grant to support the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) in its efforts to provide access to clean water in rural areas of China.  The grant – which will be awarded over a three-year period and administered by Give2Asia, a U.S.-based non-profit organization founded by the Asia Foundation – will help fund the efforts of ACWF's China Women's Development Foundation (CWDF) to provide safe water access for 500,000 people in the central and western regions of China by 2015.

The grant is the largest individual donation the PepsiCo Foundation has ever made in China and builds upon its ongoing support of the CWDF's "Water Cellars for Mothers" Project, an award-winning program that has benefited 1.7 million people.

"Water sits at the nexus of so many global challenges, including health, hunger, and economic growth. The only way to measurably and sustainably address these issues is through broad-scale collaborative efforts between governments, industry, NGOs, and other stakeholders around the world," said PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi.  "We are proud to support the important work of the All-China Women's Federation, and we will continue to look for opportunities to do our part to alleviate water scarcity in China and other countries around the world."

"Ever since its entry into China, PepsiCo has always put equal emphases upon strategic business growth and corporate social responsibility (CSR) fulfillment. The cooperation between ACWF and PepsiCo is now turning a new chapter with this further donation to Water Cellars for Mothers project," said Mme. Zhen Yan, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the Secretariat of ACWF and Vice Chairman of CWDF.  "ACWF highly commends PepsiCo's long-term commitment to public welfare.  We hope that more enterprises with a strong sense of CSR will engage in the interest of public welfare and contribute positively to the development of a harmonious society in China."

Many regions across China have been challenged in recent years by severe drought and floods.  Government, non-profit and developmental agencies have mobilized programs to better protect and manage China's precious water resources.  Since 1985, more than 160 million residents of rural China have benefited from various programs.

With the support of China's Ministry of Water Resources, the PepsiCo Foundation's grant will fund safe water access projects for people in rural villages and primary schools in eight provinces and municipalities, including Yunnan, Gansu, Guangxi, Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Qinghai and Inner Mongolia.  

The grant was announced at a public ceremony in Beijing on Thursday, June 30.  At the event, Chen Zhili, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and Chairman of ACWF, presented a certificate to PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi.  Other senior leaders from ACWF and senior officers from Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Environmental Protection and China Beverage Industry Association also attended the ceremony.

The PepsiCo Foundation's support for ACWF is part of the company's global commitment to global water stewardship.  As part of this commitment, PepsiCo has pledged to:

• Provide access to safe water to three million people in developing countries by the end of 2015.
• Improve water use efficiency by 20 percent per unit of production by 2015.
• Strive for "positive water balance" in water-distressed areas.

PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation have pledged more than $15 million to safe water and sanitation initiatives in developing countries since 2005.  In addition to ACWF and CWDF, the PepsiCo Foundation is also working with the Columbia University Earth Institute's Global Water Center, Water.org, the Safe Water Network, The Energy Resources Institute (TERI), and many other organizations on a host of projects which are helping to install village water and irrigation systems; establish water health centers; construct rainwater harvesting cisterns; improve sanitation programs; and recharge aquifers in developing communities.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that generate more than $1 billion in annual retail sales each. Our main businesses -- Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay, and Pepsi Cola -- also make hundreds of other enjoyable foods and beverages that are respected household names throughout the world. With net revenues of approximately $60 billion, PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth by investing in a healthier future for people and our planet, which we believe also means a more successful future for PepsiCo. We call this commitment Performance with Purpose: PepsiCo's promise to provide a wide range of foods and beverages for local tastes; to find innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment, including by conserving energy and water usage, and reducing packaging volume; to provide a great workplace for our associates; and to respect, support, and invest in the local communities where we operate. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

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About PepsiCo Greater China

In 1981, PepsiCo was one of the first American companies to enter China when it signed a contract with the local government to establish its first bottling plant in Shenzhen. Over the past 30 years, PepsiCo Greater China Region has opened up 30 plants, including 24 bottling plants, 1 concentrate plant, 5 food plants and 7 farms, employing 30,000 people and indirectly creating thousands of additional jobs.

To date, PepsiCo's total investment in China has exceeded RMB 10 billion, anchoring its position as a market leader in the fast-growing food and beverage sector in China.  In 2008 and 2010, PepsiCo committed to total additional investments of USD 3.5 billion by the end of 2013. The new investment will fund facilities expansion, research and development scale-up, and expansion of agricultural and brand-building initiatives.

Products manufactured and sold by PepsiCo in Greater China include Pepsi-Cola, Pepsi Light, Pepsi Max, Tropicana Guo Bin Fen, Tropicana Pulp Sacs (Xian Guo Li), Tropicana 100% Pure Juice, Mirinda, 7-Up, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Cao Ben Le, Ice Pure Water, Dole, Lay's Potato Chips, Quaker Oats, and Cheetos.  For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.cn.

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, visit:  http://www.pepsico.com/Purpose/PepsiCo-Foundation.aspx.

SOURCE PepsiCo