Beverage giant Keurig Dr Pepper is upping its commitment to good water stewardship by partnering with the Texas Water Action Collaborative. The collaborative is a coalition of industry, government and non-profit groups all committed to improving the quality and health of Texas’ Trinity River.
The new partnership is a part of Keurig Dr Pepper’s “Drink Well, Do Good” campaign, which has a goal to support regenerative agriculture and conservation on a quarter million acres of land across the globe, in particular when it’s related to important source ingredients including coffee, fruit and corn. The company hopes to protect water sources and improve water supply throughout its supply chain in a way that supports biodiversity and strengthens the livelihood of farmers.
“Access to clean water is critical to the facilities that make our beverages, the communities in which we operate, and the farmers that grow ingredients for our drinks,” said Monique Oxender, the company’s chief sustainability officer.
“The new commitments…advance our efforts to be good stewards of water across our value chain. Our new regenerative agriculture goal is a positive step forward on our journey to ensure a long-term, sustainable supply of high-quality crops…by improving soil health for the farmers who supply us. This unique, new collaboration in the state of Texas ensures we are mitigating against climate change and protecting water resources in our local communities” Oxender commented.
Keurig Dr Pepper’s work with the Texas Water Action Collaborative is just one of many partnerships the company is working on. Additionally, the business has also teamed up with the Nature Conservancy, Root Capital, the California Water Action Collaborative and the Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable. All of these partnerships are designed to help Keurig Dr Pepper improve water efficiency across all operations by at least 20 percent by 2025, including 100 percent replenishment of water in any high water-risk communities. The efforts are already working. As of 2019, the company has put back at least 73 percent of the water it has used to make beverages, and has a nearly 5 percent improvement of baseline water use. In addition, the company’s work with Root Capitol has helped support 330,000 small coffee farmers and their families. For Keurig Dr Pepper, it’s just the beginning of a more sustainable way of operating.
“We’re going to build on the work we’ve done and the lessons we’ve learned with coffee farmers over the last 20 years, and apply the successes and learnings across what is now a much bigger and more diverse company,” said senior manager of sustainability Whitney Kakos. “We’re going to keep a high bar and remain committed to being transparent about how we’re doing and what we’re achieving year-on-year.”The company’s work in Texas and beyond is a great example of a large corporation changing its environmental and social impact for good. By focusing its energy and resources on the water – an area where it can truly have an impact – Keurig Dr Pepper is positively affecting the supply chain, the environment, and the health and well-being of its employees and suppliers. In addition, all of the company’s K-cups and beverage bottles are now made of recyclable plastic – and the company will responsibly source all of its cocoa by the end of this year.
