Safety and health at work

We nurture a safe and healthy workplace, guided by our zero-harm ambition. We are committed to prioritizing workplace safety and health through caring leadership, enhancing the well-being of our employees across all operations. 

Our progress

Setting high standards for health and safety

As a company that employs approximately 271 000 people worldwide and aims to inspire people to live healthier lives, we aim to provide a zero-harm work environment for our employees and on-site contractors, and to ensure that our sites and activities do not cause harm to the local communities where we operate. We believe that taking care of people helps to build and sustain a healthy and motivated workforce.

Wherever our people work their health and safety is critically important. We take a proactive approach to preventing accidents, eliminating risks and promoting safe behaviors. We have a 'zero-harm' vision and expect the most serious rules - to prevent serious injuries or fatalities - to be applied with zero tolerance. We empower employees to stop work and speak up if they encounter an unsafe scenario.

Our key achievements

• In 2023, we launched our Nestlé Employee Health & Wellbeing Council, along with approval for our Employee Health Dashboard
• Our Nestlé Group Safety Council was re-instated in 2023, ensuring we will address our key risks with globally aligned strategic initiatives and safety drivers - recommendations have been shared, agreed and approved with the Group Safety Council
• We launched the 2024-2026 Employee Health Roadmap, our global framework to inspire healthier lifestyles and well-being for employees by setting priorities across physical, mental, financial, and social health, supported by governance, education, and engagement initiatives communicated to all markets. NutriLearn, a science-based, interactive learning platform was launched in November 2024 to help employees deepen their understanding of nutrition and promote healthier lifestyles through engaging modules and storytelling
• We launched SafetyNestCurve our new safety culture framework aiming to strengthen behavioral safety and cultural maturity across operations, aiming for full implementation at 100 sites by the end of 2025 through targeted tools, assessments, and digital solutions. We have accelerated the rollout of digital safety solutions - especially those supporting Life-Saving Rules (LSR) - to strengthen our zero-harm culture, with predictive risk modeling, VR-based training, and compliance assessments, aiming for at least one digital safety solution in the majority of markets by the end of 2025.
• Across more than 70% of our factory sites, we have assessed compliance to our on Life-Saving Rules (LSR), including the development of action plans  
• Internally, we have shared and recognized over 200 best safety practices - submitted by markets for our Nestlé Global Best Practice Award - helping to enhance our safety understanding throughout the company  

Digital tools which prevent accidents

We have developed a digital, predictive risk model which we constantly update with different variables to anticipate threats in the workplace. By precisely mapping risks, we can apply mitigations to reduce accidents. We use a platform called Connected Safety to train employees based on the risk mapping, which also contains information on life-saving and first aid procedures.

Virtual reality technology helps to enhance learning programs - educating users on risks, as well as providing new data points to enrich our predictive risk modelling. Its immersive nature means that recall rates have increased to 75% from 10% scores in reading materials, according to the Nestlé Global Safety Team. VR will play an increasingly important role in future safety training development.

Enhancing mental well-being

To tackle mental health challenges we provide guidance and advice to employees through webinars, online content, participation in campaigns such as #HealthyLives and Mental Health Week and promoting taking active breaks.

Safer working conditions at sea

In Thailand, where we source up to seven percent of our seafood, we have explored how to improve safety on fishing vessels. In a collaboration with the non-profit organization Verité and our seafood supplier Thai Union, we are using a demonstration vessel to show how mechanization to deploy and retrieve nets can improve worker safety and reduce overcrowding on board.

Creating a culture of safety

We audit all our facilities for compliance with our sustainability and human rights requirements across seven pillars, including Safety and Health, Environmental Sustainability, Conditions of Work and Employment, Local Communities and Labor Accommodation, as well as Business Integrity and Security. Read more about our global CARE Audit Program here.