WORLD WATER DAY 2023 Q&A WITH RYAN SPICER

At Keurig Dr Pepper, we believe we have a unique opportunity to help address local and global water challenges. Water is the primary ingredient in our products and used across our operations. It is also a shared resource that is critical to the health of communities and ecosystems where we live and work. In celebration of World Water Day, our Director of Environmental Impact Ryan Spicer shared more on our approach to water stewardship.

What does water stewardship mean to KDP – and what does it look like in practice?

Water stewardship means using and managing this precious resource responsibly, taking into consideration our own operations as well as surrounding communities. For example, we are continuously looking to use water more efficiently and replenishing the water we use, particularly in areas that are more prone to water challenges like water scarcity, water stress and drought. Our goal is to partner with these high-risk communities to replenish 100% of water used in our beverages at those sites by 2030. We do this by collaborating with local partners to implement on-the-ground conservations projects that protect and restore watersheds.

Can you give examples of some of the on-the-ground conservation projects? Why are those partnerships important?

Since water is a very localized issue, and the associated challenges are often unique to each community, we rely on local and regional experts to help us implement solutions that are tailored to a particular geography and climate. It’s through our partners’ in-depth expertise and knowledge of the shared water challenges within a watershed that we ensure our efforts will truly make an impact.

For example, we’ve partnered with Audubon on a multi-year project to restore Florida’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary’s marshes and wet prairies. Restoring wetlands improves water quality and protects surrounding areas against flooding. It also helps brings back biodiversity which is important in the fight against climate change. So far, our support has helped Audubon reach 1,000 acres of restored wetland habitat.

How are the impacts of climate change factored into your approach?

To help build resiliency against the impacts of climate change, we are working to implement regenerative practices and conservation on the farms where our suppliers grow the agricultural raw materials used to make our products – crops like coffee, corn and apples. These farming methods help improve soil health, increase biodiversity and improve water quality and quantity. Our goal is to support conservation and regenerative agriculture on 250,000 acres of land by 2030.

What’s next?

Last year we announced our aspiration to achieve Net Positive Water Impact by 2050. This means we leave a positive impact in water-stressed areas by focusing on quality, availability and accessibility. We also joined the Water Resilience Coalition (WRC) to help scale the work we already have underway. The WRC enables us to collaborate with some of the world’s largest and most action-oriented companies to achieve meaningful change. Together we can protect this natural resource that is vital to all businesses, ecosystems and communities around the world.