Wherever we bottle water, we implement water-saving practices, and monitor how much we use to ensure there is no negative impact on local watersheds and aquifers, and that these replenish naturally. As proof of this, we have committed to certifying all Nestlé Waters & Premium Beverages sites to the AWS certification. AWS certification encourages improved water management practices, directly supporting the reduction of negative impacts from water discharges in water bodies, water scarcity and water usage. We can report that by the end of 2025, the total number of Nestlé Waters & Premium Beverages AWS-certified sites was 39.
Our water regeneration pledge demonstrates how we want to care for shared water challenges, by leading work on improvements related to water quality and quantity around our Nestlé Waters & Premium Beverages sites. In 2024, we had already delivered water volume benefits of 8.2 million m3 a year, thanks to a pipeline of projects launched in close collaboration with local partners. We now have approximately 70 projects globally; each project includes solutions adapted to the local water challenges.
By the end of 2025, the projects that were in place at Nestlé Waters & Premium Beverages sites, were locally regenerating 14.1 million m3 of water per year. As these projects mature to their full potential, they will help deliver more volumetric water benefits in the years to come.
We work closely with local communities to ensure that people’s access to water is unaffected. Nestlé strongly believes that water is a human right. In many cases, we provide access to water and sanitation to local communities near our factories, and develop shared social, economic and environmental initiatives.
New technologies at our water bottling factories help us to minimize our environmental impact. For example, our factory in Buxton, UK, uses 100% renewable energy. Our factory in Henniez, Switzerland uses agricultural biogas to help meet its power needs.
Remember, bottled water is never wasted. People drink it, and we sell it to meet increasing demand for convenient, healthy hydration. It does not compete with tap water as a major source of drinking water.
It also takes less water, less plastic and less energy to manufacture than most other bottled beverages. Nestlé Waters requires less than 2.5 liters of water to produce one liter of product, whilst 1 liter of beer requires approximately 300 liters of water.
However, only one out of every two PET bottles is ever recycled, so we are working with other companies, public authorities and NGOs to develop a true circular economy for recycling and reusing.
Wherever we bottle water, we pay what the local authorities ask us. All water users (from food companies, to golf courses and other industries), should be treated fairly, with any fees paid used to manage water resources more sustainably.
