A young boy smiles at the camera in Kabirwala, Pakistan, while his father looks on happily, as they collect clean drinking water. It's an image that means a lot to us at Nestlé.
We can't take water for granted
Ammar, that's the boy's name, and his father, were benefiting from a facility that we built to provide people with free access to clean drinking water, near our factory in Kabirwala. It's one of the seven facilities that we've built across Pakistan in recent years.
I find this photo moving because it shows a scene (access to clean, safe water), that so many of us take for granted. But we can't afford to do so. According to UN's estimates, over 2 billion people lack access to safely managed water services.
My country, Pakistan, is at the forefront of climate change, being in the top 10 to be affected by its impact. This has resulted in Pakistan facing increasing water-related challenges, exacerbated by some practices which are contributing to the mismanagement of water.
Clean water and sanitation for 70 000
Water is essential for life, and we strongly believe that access to water is a basic human right. Everyone, everywhere, should have access to water. Guided by our values rooted in respect, Nestlé Pakistan is supporting the communities we operate in by providing water and sanitation to over 70 000 people every day.
This is just one of the ways Nestlé is Caring for Water (C4W). Our efforts contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 6 on clean water and sanitation, 13 on climate action, and 17 on partnerships for the goals.
Water is also essential for our business. We need sustainable water access to grow the ingredients we use in our foods and beverages and to run our factories, while consumers need water to prepare our products.
At a global level, beyond providing water and sanitation to people in many countries, Nestlé is doing more to reduce, reuse and recycle water in our factories and to help farmers manage water more efficiently in our agricultural supply chain. We're also working with partners to manage local watersheds' sustainably.
Credible third-party validation
Water is a shared and precious resource. We need to ensure that we manage it sustainably, working with and for all water users. Nestlé is committed to working with everyone (from local people, farmers and suppliers, governments, NGOs, universities and civil society) to achieve this goal.
What does this mean on the ground?
Well, we have certified all our factories in accordance with the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) Standard in Sheikhupura, Islamabad, Kabirwala and Port Qasim. This is an international standard for freshwater resources that guides organizations to manage water by taking site and catchment-specific initiatives through stakeholder inclusive processes.
This international standard guides organizations on how to improve water efficiency, both on- and offsite, and it provides credible, third-party endorsement of Nestlé's water stewardship practices worldwide.
Saving water with drip irrigation
Additionally, we are working with stakeholders to promote drip irrigation that guards against over- and under-irrigation. As of 2022, drip irrigation was operational across 139 acres.
We've forged partnerships with Agriculture Department, Government of Punjab, Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC), University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences (UVAS) and the Mango Research Institute (MRI) - to explore efficient water use and increase yields using drip irrigation.
Promoting efficient water management through technology
Partnering with Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), we've also helped develop low-cost smart soil sensors. These sensors read the moisture level of the soil and send regular data updates to a cloud from where the farmer receives information about which areas they should irrigate and how much. In 2022, smart soil sensors were operational on 548 acres.
According to our estimates, farmers we work with achieved water savings of 482 556 m3 during 2022 because of our drip irrigation and smart soil moisture sensors installation.
So within Nestlé Pakistan we're working hard, and our actions mirror those of our colleagues across 85 countries across the world where the company produces products. Our work continues, and beyond Nestlé we'll continue to act with others, to ensure that we steward water for future generations.
By doing so we will put all our efforts to ensure safe and clean drinking water for young boys like Ammar and his friends - and for everyone in the communities where we operate.
