Nestlé Waters will expand its current efforts to manage water sustainably and increase its collaboration with partners to identify and support local solutions.
According to the press release, these solutions are designed to help regenerate the ecosystems in the areas around each of Nestlé Waters' 48 sites. As of 2025, they will help nature retain more water than the business uses in its operations.
This initiative builds on the company's 2017 commitment to certify all of its Waters sites by the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) by 2025, reported the press release. This standard requires water users to understand and act collectively on water challenges.
Nestlé aims to advance the regeneration of local water cycles through the implementation of more than 100 projects for its 48 sites by 2025. These new, measurable actions will support better water management and infrastructure. Some project examples include:
- Buxton – Land conservation (protecting land from development) and natural flood management interventions in Derbyshire, UK;
- Vittel – River restoration and renaturation projects in Vosges, France;
- Nestlé Pure Life – Support for farmers to use drip irrigation in Sheikhupura, Pakistan; And
- Nestlé Pure Life – The delivery of water treatment, filtration and pipeline infrastructure for the municipal water supply in Benha, Egypt.
Nestlé will invest CHF 120 million (USD 130 million) to assist the implementation of the more than 100 projects, according to the press release.
"Today, we are accelerating our journey to support the regeneration of local water cycles and are challenging ourselves to take bold new steps," said Muriel Lienau, Head of the Waters Business in the press release. "We want to play an active role in helping to conserve water resources everywhere we operate. To do so, we will work with many partners to develop tailored projects that help find local solutions."
"As a business with a long heritage of nature protection and water stewardship, we want to go beyond the conservation of water sources to help regenerate and restore water cycles in the areas where we operate," said Cédric Egger, Head of Sustainability at Nestlé Waters in the press release. "We know the water challenge is global, but it can only be tackled through local solutions. Now is the time to expand the scope of our actions. With Nestlé's presence around the world, we can learn from our many partners and contribute to solving the water challenges in the locations near our operations."
Nestlé's work will be tailored to individual locations, needs and issues and will take a broader approach, going beyond its own operations, according to the press release. The company will work with local water users, communities, partners and global experts to identify, develop and progress projects specific to those challenges.
All projects will be measurable using the World Resources Institute's Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting (VWBA) methodology. This methodology provides consistency in analyzing water management activities and helps to ensure that such activities address current and future shared water challenges.
Using this methodology, a newly created external panel will review the relevance and sustainability of the projects and give feedback on whether they are helping to address the local challenges and opportunities, added the press release. Nestlé Waters will provide full transparency on the water usage at each of its sites and on what its projects contribute to the area.
