March 21, 2025 -- PURCHASE, NEW YORK – Building safeguards from floods. Preserving vital wildlife habitats. Providing farmers additional defense from climate change. PepsiCo’s investments in watershed replenishment programs in the U.S. last year all aim to provide multi-pronged benefits to lands and communities in high water-risk areas.
In 2024, PepsiCo invested over $1.8 million to help launch four new watershed replenishment projects in high water-risk areas within the U.S. where the company operates. Projects are developed with local partners in California, Colorado and Texas connected to the watersheds where we operate. Replenishing water in high water-risk areas is integral to PepsiCo's broader pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) ambition of becoming Net Water Positive by 2030.
The projects take specialized approaches tailored to each region’s needs:
Improving flood safety for vulnerable communities and bolstering aquatic habitats in California
PepsiCo U.S. Beverages has partnered with River Partners on their Feather River Floodplain Restoration Project in Northern California. PepsiCo is supporting the reconnection of 15 miles of side channels to nearly 7,000 acres of to-be-revitalized floodplain habitat in California’s Sacramento Valley.
These restoration efforts aim to improve habitat for native species, such as imperiled salmon, providing new sources of shelter, food and rearing habitat. And significantly, as the riverside lands are restored, they will also help increase flood safety for vulnerable communities and natural carbon sequestration, among other benefits.
This project aims to replenish 150 million gallons of water per year through the next decade to enhance the Sacramento River, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and San Francisco Bay watersheds.
An area near the Feather River in Northern California where River Partners, with support from PepsiCo, is aiming to restore 150 acres of historic floodplains.
“PepsiCo is stepping up to create a better future for the Sacramento Valley, its ecosystems, communities, and economy at a scale that matters,” said Julie Rentner, President, River Partners. “Helping revitalize and reconnect a critical river corridor and historic floodplains along the Feather River just upstream of the Central Valley’s largest river confluence produces big, across-the-board wins. Chief among these is conserving and replenishing millions of gallons of vital fresh water, improving flood safety for vulnerable communities in harm’s way, and driving ambitious statewide initiatives that keep California thriving for generations to come.”
Protecting sensitive ecosystems, reducing carbon emissions, and lowering costs for farmers in Texas
PepsiCo U.S. Beverages and U.S. Foods are supporting Edwards Aquifer Authority’s Groundwater Conservation Program. The initiative aims to ease pressure on the stressed Edwards Aquifer by reducing water-use for agricultural practices such as irrigation and crop production.
This work aims to preserve sensitive aquatic habitats and species sustained by the aquifer and reduce groundwater pumping-related power consumption. Rising groundwater levels can help farmers reduce operating and maintenance costs and decrease carbon emissions.
This project aims to replenish 65 million gallons of water per year over 10 years in the Nueces-San Antonio-Guadalupe Watershed.
From Left: Aquatic vegetation in the Nueces River located in Uvalde County Texas; EAA staff member assembles a well inspection camera; The threatened San Marcos salamander is one of the eight species protected by the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan; EAA staff inspect a sprinkler nozzle on a center-pivot irrigation system, which helps reduce agricultural water-use and improve efficiency. Photos Courtesy of Edwards Aquifer Authority.
“The generous investment from PepsiCo not only helps to conserve our valuable resources, but it also helps to sustain the future use of the Edwards Aquifer for all that depend upon it – whether that use is agricultural, municipal, industrial or environmental in nature,” said Marc Friberg, Deputy General Manager, Edwards Aquifer Authority. “The Edwards Aquifer Authority is grateful to have PepsiCo as a partner in our continuing mission to manage, enhance, and protect the Edwards Aquifer.”
Restoring natural river flow and improving fish habitats in Colorado
PepsiCo U.S. Beverages is partnering with Trout Unlimited in Granby, CO, in an effort to reestablish natural river flow and improve habitat conditions for trout and sculpin in the Fraser River. This project aims to replenish 473 million gallons of water per year for 10 years in the Upper Colorado River Watershed.
The Fraser River in Granby, CO. Photo Courtesy of Ecological Resource Consultants, Inc.
Enhancing water retention, supporting biodiversity and increasing climate stability in California
PepsiCo U.S. Beverages has also funded Trout Unlimited to help restore the function of degraded mountain meadows within the Kern Plateau. The primary restoration activity will be the construction of beaver dam analogs, which will contribute towards helping preserve essential habitat for California golden trout.
The efforts will include work to improve the overall flow, increase flood protection and mitigation, improve surface water quality and storage, and reduce surface water runoff and associated erosion. This project aims to replenish at least 14 million gallons of water per year, with potential to replenish up to approximately 41 million gallons annually in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Watershed.
Before and after photos of a meadow restored as part of Trout Unlimited’s and PepsiCo’s watershed replenishment efforts in the Kern Plateau in California. Photo courtesy of Trout Unlimited.
“We are deeply grateful to PepsiCo for their commitment to water conservation and this generous investment in Trout Unlimited’s work. The support for our projects in Colorado and California will help restore vital rivers and streams, improve habitat for native species, and advance our shared vision for the health of the lands and waters that sustain this great nation,” said Chris Wood, President & CEO of Trout Unlimited. “This partnership underscores the power of collaborative stewardship in ensuring a healthier, more sustainable future for our rivers and the communities that depend on them."
These latest investments build on PepsiCo’s water replenishment and water-use efficiency efforts across the U.S. This includes work in the city of Winter Haven, Florida that supports wetlands restoration and fully funding a project that aims to provide critical freshwater to valuable ecosystems and wildlife in Galveston Bay in southeast Texas. It also encompasses projects which have helped to replace infrastructure and eliminate loss of water supply in the Guadalupe River and San Antonio River basins, supported water replenishment projects in the Colorado River Basin and supported a partnership with Water Replenishment District of Southern California to help protect the state's most used basins.
“Partnerships like these are essential to our pep+ agenda to drive water stewardship at scale,” said Lawren Cooper, Sustainability Deployment Director, PepsiCo U.S. Beverages. “By working alongside organizations like Trout Unlimited, Edwards Aquifer Authority, and River Partners, we can help restore critical waterways, protect essential habitats, and safeguard water resources for the communities and ecosystems that depend on them.”
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated nearly $92 billion in net revenue in 2024, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.
Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with pep+ (PepsiCo Positive). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability and human capital at the center of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com, and follow on X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @PepsiCo.
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