PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation have partnered with
the Columbia Water Center (CWC) at Columbia University
since 2008. During this time, the CWC has developed, tested
and delivered solutions for water insecurity around the
world. These projects have included the development of
low-cost meters that help smallholder farmers in India apply
the correct amount of water to their crops and the creation
of water-allocation plans that helped provide fresh water to
more than 4 million people in Brazil.
PepsiCo and the MyShelter Foundation partnered to build
the Liter of Light program, which takes plastic bottles out
of the waste stream and recycles them to bring eco-friendly
natural light to homes in communities that lack lighting.
The bottle lights make use of everyday materials: PET, water,
corrugated sheet metal and chlorine. Each light lasts up to
10 years, costs about $2 and takes 30 minutes to install. As of
April 2014, Liter of Light had installed 190,000 bottle lights in
95,000 homes and donated more than 800 solar-powered
night and street lamps.