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Women foundation appoints Pepsi CEO charity ambassador [China Daily: Africa Weekly](China Daily: Africa Weekly Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) China Women's Development Foundation Appoints Indra K. Nooyi, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, the First International Charity Ambassador of the Water Cellar for Mothers (MWC) Project on Oct 22, 2014. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] The China Women's Development Foundation (CWDF) and PepsiCo met Wednesday at the Great Hall of the People to discuss the status of the Water Cellar for Mothers (MWC)/Safe Water Access project (2011-2014). During the meeting, Vice-Chairwoman of ACWF Meng Xiaosi presented a letter of appointment to Indra Nooyi as the MWC international charity ambassador. This is the first appointment in the 14-year history of the MWC project and was given to her in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the MWC project and the long-standing and productive commitments made by PepsiCo, the PepsiCo Foundation and PepsiCo GCR associates to provide safe water access to the disadvantaged people of China. Huang Qingyi, Vice-Chairwoman and First Secretary of the Secretariat of the ACWF and Chairwoman of the CWDF, Meng Xiaosi, Vice-Chairwoman of the All China Women's Federation (ACWF), Secretary of the Secretariat of the ACWF, Zhen Yan, Vice-Chairwoman of Committee for Social and Legal Affairs with the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CCPPCC) and Vice-Chairwoman of CWDF, Qin Guoying, Vice-Chairwoman and Secretary-General of the CWDF; Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, Sanjeev Chadha, CEO of PepsiCo Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA), Katty Lam, Chairwoman of PepsiCo GCR, as well as representatives of Give2Asia and Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention attended the event. Nooyi is Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo. Widely considered one of the most powerful leaders in business, she is also known for her dedication to aligning business objectives with society's needs. Nooyi introduced the strategic vision of Performance with Purpose at PepsiCo in 2007, which is focused on delivering strong and sustained financial performance by doing the right things for society and communities around the world. "I am grateful to receive this honorary title, and I am pleased to accept it on behalf of PepsiCo associates around the world," said Nooyi. "For us, the honor comes with a responsibility to continue to bring solutions to those who need them most. While I am pleased with the results PepsiCo and CWDF have worked to achieve together over the past three years, we know our work is far from complete. We at PepsiCo are committed to continuing our work to help China address the problem of safe water access." The CWDF expressed its hope to leverage Nooyi's international influence and PepsiCo's global leadership to help more people in central and western China who are in dire need of assistance. It hopes that Nooyi and the company will be able to build a bridge between China and the rest of the world to promote the women's charity by encouraging more companies, institutions and individuals to support the worthwhile MWC project. "PepsiCo's MWC/Safe Water Access project has become an important supplement to Chinese government's safe water access project, becoming a role model of philanthropic collaborations between the government, businesses and NGOs. It has carried out effective explorations in safeguarding women's rights in obtaining safe water and cooperating with governments to solve difficulties in people's safe water access, playing a positive role in accelerating the progress of safe water access in rural China," said Zhen Yan, Vice-Chairwoman of CWDF. During the review meeting, Mme. Qin Guoying, Vice-Chairwoman of the CWDF, updated the leaders on the results to date of the safe water access project, which was launched with a $5 million donation from the PepsiCo Foundation in June 2011. The funds provided by the PepsiCo Foundation represented the single largest donation ever received by the CWDF since the initiation of the MWC project. "Thanks to the collaboration of the women's organizations in the relevant provinces, municipalities and counties as well as the support of the Ministry of Water Resources and Ministry of Health, the MWC project has enabled access to safe water for some 650,000 people across 30 counties in eight provinces of Sichuan, Gansu, Yunnan, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Chongqing, Guizhou and Guangxi," said Qin Guoying. These results far surpassed the initial three-year goal of providing safe water for 500,000 people in China's central and western regions by the end of 2015. Not only did the organization achieve its goal early, it also increased safe water access to more people than originally anticipated. During the event, PepsiCo GCR committed to donate an additional 1.3 million yuan ($212,500) to CWDF to support the safe water access project in the earthquake areas of Ludian, Yunnan province through a combination of contributions from PepsiCo GCR, GCR associates, and the PepsiCo Foundation, all of whom believe strongly in the mission of the CWDF and are committed to assisting the communities in the region that were impacted by the recent earthquakes. PepsiCo has been supporting the MWC project of the CWDF since 2001. It is the first Fortune 500 global corporation to participate in the project and one of its first strategic partners. As of the end of 2013, the PepsiCo Foundation, PepsiCo GCR and associates had together donated nearly 53 million yuan ($8.7 million) to the MWC project, which has supported the construction of over 1,500 water cellars, the building or upgrading some 170 small-scale safe water sites, construction of over 90 campus-based safe water projects and training of more than 170,000 rural residents, benefitting more than 717,000 people in 10 provinces and autonomous regions, namely Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu, Guizhou, Guangxi, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Chongqing and Shaanxi. Since its launch in 2000, the MWC project has received wide-spread attention and recognition, including winning China's top charity award. As of 2014, the MWC project had mobilized 850 million yuan ($139 million) in funds, supporting the construction of over 135,000 rainwater cellars and over 1,650 small-scale centralized water supply projects in 25 provinces (autonomous regions or centrally administered municipalities), most of which in the western regions, and directly benefiting almost 2.4 million people. The CWDF donation is also part of PepsiCo's global water stewardship strategy. Over the years, PepsiCo has committed itself to helping local communities improve safe water access with grants from the PepsiCo Foundation, and has introduced water and energy conservation programs into its own operations by building green plants. Today, PepsiCo GCR already has 5 LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design of the US Green Building Council) "green plants" in its food and beverage operations. Consuming at least 20 percent less water and energy than other qualified plants, the PepsiCo green plants have set a new industry standard in China. In the meantime, PepsiCo GCR is also working with the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture to promote water-saving irrigation projects in the agricultural sector. With the application of drip and sprinkler irrigation technologies, PepsiCo's potato farms in China use 50 percent less water compared to other farms using the traditional flood irrigation. (c) 2014 China Daily Information Company. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |