Nestlé's Commitment to Water Management
Children in the Escuela Primaria Netzahualcoyotl in Toluca, Mexico entertain Peter Brabeck-Letmathe while they pretend to be water molecules in The Incredible Journey of the Water Cycle. International Project WET in Mexico engages participants in activities like Sum of the Parts, where role-playing helps understand how water pollution of a river could be prevented. In total, more than 280 000 students have benefi ted from 10 000 Water Guides, supporting 9600 teachers trained in 390 workshops. In this interview conducted by Dr. Ismael Serageldin in January 2007, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Chairman & CEO of Nestlé SA, outlined what he sees as Nestlé’s responsibilities in helping achieve more efficient water use.
I. Serageldin: Why is Nestlé concerned about water?
P. Brabeck-Letmathe: Water is essential to all life. However, as the population increases we human beings consume more, affecting climatic conditions and water availability – in some places dramatically. Human ingenuity can mitigate the problem, but mismanagement of water resources makes it worse.
Nestlé invests to improve the situation because water availability – both quantity and quality – touches our business in a number of ways. First, we depend on water for manufacturing. Therefore, it is in our interest to limit consumption and waste of the resource.
Second, we provide bottled mineral and pure water to millions of consumers, including access to safe drinking water in times of disaster, and through investments in select communities. Third, our products are made of agricultural raw materials which both demand and impact freshwater resources. And finally, our consumers need safe, clean water to prepare many of our products.
If Nestlé is going to continue to meet the growing needs of its consumers, we must participate in the protection of natural resources. Some of our manufacturing sites are in water-poor regions, and in some areas consumers choose bottled water precisely because municipal water sources are inadequate or threatened. Even if these situations affect a small portion of our business today, these are all conditions that should be diminished – or reversed.
I. Serageldin: How can Nestlé contribute to improving the state of water management?
P. Brabeck-Letmathe: Nestlé cannot solve the water problem – far from it, but we can help manage water both directly and indirectly. Even as early as 1930, Nestlé began to invest - beyond the then-current municipal infrastructure – in its own waste water treatment plant at factory level. Each year, our aim remains to improve water efficiency continuously and to reduce waste. As new technologies become available, we can increase our efficiencies and drive down, for example, environmental parameters such as greenhouse gas emissions or packaging waste. The data in this report shows we are serious about results and about learning how to further develop water management. We have demonstrated continuous improvement over the past four years since our last water report, “Nestlé and Water - Sustainability, Protection, Stewardship”, which highlights our policy.
Additionally, we can also help others to manage shared water needs better. Agriculture uses most of the world's freshwater resources and therefore is a good place to focus investments. In our direct relationship with agricultural suppliers, we can help farmers understand how their practices at farm level impact water resources. We also offer experience and best practices from other regions or countries in effluent or waste management, irrigation, and post-harvest technology to influence farm practices on a broader scale. As a founding member of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform and with many projects of our own, we have the channels to disseminate our learning in association with other institutions working on crops other than milk or coffee. We also encourage awareness of water resources by reaching out to consumers and children, in particular, about the value of water conservation; and we participate in local and global dialogue on water governance to influence the establishment of good water management practices. We encourage local communities in their efforts and join the debate on the impact of appropriate pricing, for example, on water use.
I. Serageldin: How can Nestlé help in the areas where water has become most scarce?
P. Brabeck-Letmathe: Although global measurements show considerable water savings worldwide, there may be broad diversity of water conditions at local levels. Nestlé Waters tracks performance in our factories and at spring level, in order to focus our investments where they matter most and have the greatest impact. In this effort, our Nestlé agronomists are present in local communities from Pakistan and China to Mexico, monitoring water conditions and spreading best practices where it is most relevant within our direct supply chain. To reach communities in need of clean water, we target our contributions to consumer education, to projects on rural water access, or disaster relief. Obviously, we should not forget the global impact of agricultural subsidies which also influence local water conditions.
I. Serageldin: In your last report on Latin America, you spoke of shared value. What is the shared value proposition of your investments in water?
P. Brabeck-Letmathe: Nestlé can help create a more sustainable environment for food production. How? We are learning to operate with the lowest amount of water and the lowest possible creation of waste water. Assuming water prices are set appropriately, Nestlé also benefits because we are able to reduce our own cost of water. Working with local farmers and our direct suppliers, we are improving our need for consistent, quality raw materials, even under water-stressed conditions which could rapidly affect our supply chain. Providing products for consumer health is where the concept of shared value is most direct and is our opportunity for innovation. Nestlé Waters is creating more environment-friendly ways to bring bottled water and beverages to consumers. Every partner in the value chain leading to the delivery of safe, quality food and beverages has a responsibility specific to their role. No one partner can do it all, but together we can influence, alter, protect, and preserve the vital resource of water for future generations.