The Pepsi Bottling Group Signs on as First Corporate Partner of the Wireless Amber Alert Program

The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. (NYSE: PBG) today announced that it has signed on to become the first major corporation to enroll its employees wireless phones in the Wireless AMBER Alert Program, a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies and the transportation and telecommunications industries that issues urgent public bulletins to help solve child abduction cases. More than 27,000 PBG employees in the United States will now receive text messages on their company-owned cell phones whenever an AMBER Alert has been issued in their community.

"We are proud to become the first corporate partner to help distribute AMBER Alerts to its employees with the Wireless AMBER Alert Program and even more proud that the idea to join the effort came from one of our own employees,” said Rob King, President of PBG North America. "At PBG, we let our employees set the giving agenda so we can support the causes that mean the most to them. As a result of this approach, we now will have the opportunity – and the privilege – to use our resources to make a real difference in the communities where we operate. We hope other companies will join us so that, if we’re ever called upon to help in a search, there will be even more citizens on the road and on the case to bring a child safely home.”

All PBG-owned cell phones in the U.S. will be automatically registered to receive the alerts via text message, which will include a description of the child, the suspect and any vehicle involved, as well as information about the suspected kidnapper. If employees spot the vehicle, the suspect or the child, they will be able to call local law enforcement to help rescue an abducted child.

"The first three hours following a child’s abduction are absolutely critical to the success of law enforcement’s efforts in these cases,” said former Congressman and NFL Hall of Famer Steve Largent, President of The Wireless Foundation and President and CEO of CTIA—The Wireless Association. "Wireless technology has greatly enhanced our ability to galvanize communities in a way that provides assistance in a timely and effective manner. Adding the men and women of The Pepsi Bottling Group to this program will help to keep our children safe.”

The idea for PBG’s partnership with the AMBER Alert program came from long-time PBG employee Eric Gage, who works in Information Technology in Austin, Texas. "With our mobile phones set up to receive text messages, we can become the eyes and the ears on the streets and in the stores,” Gage said. "The entire organization has already embraced the idea. And while we hope there is never a need to issue an AMBER alert, PBG employees will be ready to do whatever we can to reunite missing children with their families.”

About The AMBER Alert Program

The AMBER Alert Program, in which AMBER stands for "America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response,” was created in 1997 when Dallas-Forth Worth broadcasters teamed with local police to develop an early warning system when children went missing.

President Bush authorized the national AMBER Alert Program as part of the PROTECT Act signed in 2003. The law formally established the federal government’s role in the program and appointed the Department of Justice as the agency responsible for coordinating AMBER Alerts on a national level.

When the program was first created, the primary means of issuing child abduction alerts was to broadcast them on local television and radio stations. The wireless industry launched the Wireless AMBER Alert Initiative in 2005 in partnership with the United States Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Thirty-three wireless carriers, which collectively serve over 96% of the nation’s 265 million wireless subscribers, provide the Wireless AMBER Alerts to their customers at no charge.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reports that the AMBER Alert program has helped in the successful recovery of over 400 abducted children nationwide.

Anyone with a wireless device equipped to receive text messages can receive wireless AMBER Alerts at no cost by registering at www.wirelessamberalerts.org.

About PBG

The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. is the world's largest manufacturer, seller and distributor of Pepsi-Cola beverages with annual sales of nearly $14 billion. With over 70,000 employees worldwide, PBG has operations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Turkey and Greece. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.pbg.com.