Nestlé’s long-term success depends on ensuring the sustainability of the water resources that supply the company's everyday business operations and support the livelihoods of producers, consumers and other key stakeholders. We are concerned about the future of water in the world and we recognise that effective water resource management is essential to creating shared value for our company and society in the 21st century.
As the world’s largest food and beverage company, Nestlé relies on access to clean water to make quality products. We have adopted rigorous standards to reduce water consumption at our plants and facilities. Since 1997, we have almost doubled our food production while reducing our water consumption by 29 percent.
We also invest in helping farmers become better stewards of water. Agriculture uses two-thirds of the world’s available fresh water. We support programmes that teach our suppliers better water management practices and help them reduce farm effluents.
We support water resource awareness and education by sponsoring programmes that reach out to consumers, children in particular, about the value of water conservation. And we participate in global dialogue on water governance and water management issues with leading experts and policymakers.
Nestlé and the United Nations Global Compact CEO Water Mandate
Nestlé has long been convinced that the growing water crisis is the most pressing environmental concern facing everyone with whom it interacts along its value chain. Accordingly, the company has been a vocal advocate for better global water management and governance for some years.
As a result of this commitment, Nestlé was a founder signatory of the United Global Compact CEO Water Mandate. The company was also a Patron Sponsor of the 2007 UNGC Leaders’ Summit at which the Mandate was launched. We have proactively contributed to the development of the Mandate and the concretisation of its six elements. We have supported the various working meetings both financially, but also with time and expertise. We remain committed to the CEO Water Mandate and its elements.