The FEMSA Foundation is our instrument for social investment, focusing on two main areas: water and nutrition. It is governed by its own Board of Directors, and aims to create lasting impacts through high-level international partnerships that leverage the benefits we bring to communities and increase the social return on our investments. In 2015 we secured over Ps.343.46 million (USD $21.61 million) in partner investments, an additional USD $3.42 for every dollar we invested in the year.
Water
We address water issues in Latin America through three main initiatives: watershed sustainability; improved water access, sanitation, and hygiene in communities; and supporting and bettering water-related decision-making processes.
In watershed sustainability we work alongside several international partners to provide seed capital for regional Water Funds that serve as transparent financial and governance mechanisms for sustainable watershed management. We currently support 19 Water Funds in the region, which in turn help ensure the health of over 1.7 million hectares of watersheds via more than USD $10.58 million invested in their long-term conservation.
To address water and sanitation we collaborate with the Millennium Water Alliance and Coca-Cola Company Latin America through our Water Links program, which has worked in rural areas of Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and Colombia for the past three years.
Through the Water Center for Latin America and the Caribbean, and in collaboration with Tecnológico de Monterrey and the Inter-American Development Bank, we have trained over 450 water professionals to improve capacities to manage water resources in the region. In 2015, the Center began development of its Decision Making Theater, which will support key water professionals and authorities with vital data.
Other highlights this year included:
- Published “Water and Cities in Latin America: Challenges for Sustainable Development.”
- Launched Water for the Future to protect more than 6,000 hectares and return over 6.9 million m3 of water to nature in Latin America.
- Partnered with Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Heineken Mexico to develop their water balancing strategy and implementation plan for Mexico.
Nutrition
We support healthy nutritional habits and lifestyles through education programs increasingly focused on infants and young children, where early good habit formation and prevention of nutritional deficits can have a significantly positive impact on their future.
We also fund advanced research on the relationship between food, genetics and the prevention of malnutrition-related illnesses; emergent food technologies and bioprocesses; and genetic design and generation of new products. We partner with experienced international organizations, universities and other entities from the public and private sector.
