Nestlé in the United States (which includes Nestle USA’s people food divisions, as well as Nestle’s other Stateside operations, including Nespresso, Purina and Nestlé Professional) today releases its 2015 Creating Shared Value Report, highlighting its achievements for the year in nutrition, health and wellness; environmental sustainability; water management; rural development and responsible sourcing; and social impact, as well as new objectives and commitments for the U.S. market. Since last year’s report, Nestlé has achieved 11 previously identified objectives and added 16 new goals to positively impact the lives of millions of people through products and services, employment and economies. New achievements include continuing industry leadership in nutrition and health research, and reaching zero waste to landfill status in 35 factories in the U.S., comprising 40 percent of the Company’s 2020 target.
As the world’s largest food and beverage company, Nestlé continues its strong commitment to nutrition research and innovation to meet evolving consumer preferences. Nestlé reformulated 1,222 food and pet products in 2015 to reduce sodium, sugar and trans fat, eliminate artificial colors and flavors, and increase essential nutrients.
“Actions speak louder than words, which is why we are so pleased to share our progress against commitments in the 2015 Nestlé in the U.S. Created Shared Value Report,” said Paul Grimwood, Chairman and CEO of Nestlé USA. “Nestlé is deeply committed to creating shared value in the communities where we do business. We’re proud of the progress we made in 2015 and excited to build upon that foundation as we work to continue to improve sustainability in the communities where we work and operate.”
Highlights from the 2015 report include:
- Responsible sourcing: Nestlé completed 522 supplier audits in the U.S., 115 percent of the company’s 2015 target. This resulted in a three-year total of 1,419 completed audits, of which 1,275 (89 percent) were compliant to the Nestlé Responsible Sourcing Program.
- Cage-free eggs: Nestlé continued its efforts toward improving farm animal welfare and pledged to use exclusively cage-free eggs in the U.S. in food and beverage portfolio by 2020, establishing an accelerated timeline compared to many industry peers.
- Supporting the economy: Nestlé paid more than $1.9 billion to 7,214 small, minority, women and veteran-owned businesses and helped sustain jobs across the country.
- Reducing water usage: By creating efficiencies and reducing waste, Nestlé factories will employ new techniques projected to save 144 million gallons of water annually (Example: The company is working to transform a Carnation® factory in Modesto, Calif. into the first “zero-water” facility by extracting the water from cow’s milk for use in a variety of ways, saving upwards of 60 million gallons annually).
Completed objectives from the 2015 report include:
- Children’s nutrition research: In 2015, Nestlé fielded its Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS) and Kids Nutrition and Health Study (KHNS) to collect key insights and develop deeper understanding on children’s (ages 0–12) dietary intake and lifestyle habits in the U.S.
- Encouraging healthy eating for infants and toddlers: Through the Start Healthy, Stay Healthy™ Early Childhood Nutrition program, Nestlé continued its work in obesity prevention and trained a combined 257 caregivers and students. This was done in partnership with Rutgers University-Newark, Program for Parents Inc., the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Health Professions and Woodlawn Foundation.
- Rolling out the CocoaPlan: Nestlé expanded sourcing through its Nestlé Cocoa Plan in the U.S. to supply UTZ-certified, sustainable cocoa equal to the amount needed to produce 100 percent of the 2015 Easter confections line of chocolates and 100 percent of NESQUIK® Ready-to-Drink beverages.
- Improving the coffee supply chain: Nestlé achieved its goal to source 100 percent 4C-verified coffee beans for NESCAFÉ® products produced and sold in the U.S.
New 2016 objectives from the report include:
- Nutrition education: By 2016, Nestlé aims to reach 10,000 thought leaders (including registered dieticians and fitness professionals) with Balance Your Plate tools and resources through outreach and education. Nestlé in the U.S. will also directly engage with 45 thought leaders and provide consumer-facing materials to increase the program’s impact.
- Assessing and addressing human rights impacts in its supply chain: By 2016, Nestlé will continue to participate in multi-stakeholder efforts to identify further solutions and implement collaborative actions to address the issue of forced labor in Thailand’s seafood supply chain.
- Increasing efficiency in water usage: By 2017, Nestlé will identify priority suppliers in its dairy supply chain and engage in discussions about increasing the efficiency of water use in dairy production.
- Hiring more veterans: By 2017, the Company plans to establish Nestlé as an Employer of Choice for veterans.