PepsiCo invests in water stewardship and wetland restoration in China

More than 100 waterbird species, including the nationally protected black stork, were recorded in the project area, the company said.

"If the Yellow River's main channel is like the human body's aorta, its small tributaries and wetlands are like capillaries," Ren Wenwei, head of WWF Shanghai regional program, said.

Their condition directly affects the health of the entire watershed, Ren said, adding that the project offers an example of restoring these "capillaries" through nature-based solutions and community participation.

Over the past four years through the end of 2025, PepsiCo's company-owned factories and franchise bottling plants in high-water-risk areas replenished more than 1.1 billion liters of water in their local watersheds.

The company aims to achieve 100 percent water replenishment at its operations in high-water-risk areas in China by 2030.

"Sustainability is a core strategy supporting PepsiCo's long-term growth, strengthening business resilience and creating social value," Hong Zonghua, vice-president of Corporate Affairs for PepsiCo Asia-Pacific, said.

The approach extends to agriculture, with digital drip irrigation systems covering more than 90 percent of the planting area at PepsiCo's company-owned and partner farms in China, allowing farmers to monitor soil moisture and deliver water and nutrients directly to crop roots.

Meanwhile, wastewater treatment and rainwater collection at its Beijing food plant helped replenish more than 524 million liters of water to a nearby wetland park between 2022 and 2025, extending water stewardship beyond factory boundaries.