Nestle report focuses on corporate responsibility
company claims to have taken to make a positive social and
environmental impact.
The Creating Shared Value 2007 report is the first of its kind released by Nestle, the largest food company in the world. Designed as a companion document to the annual management update, the report focuses on ethical issues such as water management and fair trading, the company said. Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, company chairman and chief executive officer, claimed in a statement that focusing on these areas is necessary for long term financial growth, as well as for the good of Nestle workers worldwide. "Creating shared value means thinking long term while at the same time delivering strong annual results," he said. "This enables us to deliver five to six per cent organic growth while at the same time improving our environmental and social performance, thereby having a positive impact on millions of people across the world." Environmental footprint In the report, the company claims it has focused on creating manufacturing facilities in countries in which commodities are sourced, rather than exporting a large amount of raw materials to manufacturing plants in Europe. Developments made during the year include the world's largest milk processing plant in Pakistan, and a processing plant in Brazil, the company said. Nestle also participates the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), which requires companies to report information such as greenhouse gas emissions data, reduction targets and climate change strategies. The company claims to have reduced emissions by 17.3 per cent since 2003, earning a 100 per cent score for governance of carbon issues from the CDP. Water waste is also a concern to Nestle, which claims to have reduced use of the valuable natural commodity by 28 per cent. Social development Nestle employers nearly 300,000 people from 100 countries across the world, and in the report it claims to have employed a number of schemes in 2007 to protect its work force, especially the most vulnerable members. The company is part of the United Nation's Development Programme Partnership (UNDP) which works with rural dairy farmers in Pakistan. In terms of coffee, Nestle also outlines its work with the Rainforest Alliance to pay farmers a premium for coffee beans and provide the with "technical training and assistance." The company is also a member of the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) and the World Cocoa Foundation, organisations set up to regulate cocoa trading around the world.
