PepsiCo Pakistan organises ‘Misal-e-Basti’ policy dialogue

ISLAMABAD: PepsiCo Pakistan convened the Misal-e-Basti Policy Dialogue, on August 8, a closed-door high-level roundtable titled advancing water stewardship through model communities, with its strategic partner Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).

The dialogue earned widespread institutional backing, bringing together senior leadership from the federal government, development institutions, diplomatic community, private sector, academia, and policy circles to mobilize cross-sector momentum for scaling community-based water and climate resilience models into national frameworks.

The dialogue placed a spotlight on Misal-e-Basti, a pioneering Water Stewardship Model Community in Chak RS, Shujabad, near Multan, launched by PepsiCo Pakistan in collaboration with WWF-Pakistan and independently evaluated by SDPI.

Launched on World Water Day 2023, the project was inaugurated a year later and, by mid-2025, had undergone a full independent impact assessment by SDPI.

Chief Guest Dr Shezra Mansab Ali Khan Kharal, Minister of State for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, commended the initiative, stating, “Misal-e-Basti by PepsiCo Pakistan exemplifies how cross-sector collaboration between the public, private, and development sectors, alongside policy think tanks and most importantly the community, can scale solutions that advance sustainable development, climate resilience, and socio-economic progress. This model must be scaled up and embedded into national policy.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025