Women foundation appoints Pepsi CEO charity ambassador

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.