Making a splash in water stewardship

It’s a good ten years since Nestlé chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe joined those who believe that, if nothing is done, we are likely to run out of water before we run out of oil.
Although there is no global scarcity as such, one fifth of the world’s population is without proper access to water and a further quarter in areas which lack the infrastructure to distribute water.
At the current rate of usage, however, water withdrawals will exceed renewals by 40% by 2030.
The problem is twofold: a rapidly growing population and that too much water is wasted, polluted and unsustainably managed.
Ten percent of extracted water goes to domestic use, 20% to industry and a staggering 70% is used in agriculture.
Nestlé, of course, depends on agriculture and frequently in areas where water stress and water scarcity directly affects farmers’ ability to grow and provide. “In 2013, the water consumed by the crops that we purchase amounted to 65 billion m3 – 94% from rainwater and 6% from irrigation,” says John Bee, Senior Manager of Public Affairs Communications at Nestlé.
“Our factories use water too - 147m m3 were withdrawn in 2014 - and 38% of those factories are situated in water-stressed areas,” says Bee. “We use water for cooking and cooling, washing and cleaning.
“Our employees and consumers, too, need to be healthy, which means having access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
“It is in our material interest to spearhead progress on this issue,” says Bee.
After launching the Nestlé Commitment on Water Stewardship in 2013, Nestlé has pledged to: achieve water efficiency and sustainability across its operations; advocate for effective water policies and stewardship; treat the water it discharges effectively; engage with suppliers especially those in agriculture and raise awareness on water conservation and improve access to water and sanitation across its value chain.
There have already been some outstanding successes, including cutting water withdrawals by 38% since 2005 and water discharges per tonne of product by 52% over the same period. At its Cero Agua plant in Mexico, new processes have reduced the factory’s water withdrawals to zero.
In Cameroon, where the Douala factory manufactures Maggi soup bases, communities up to three kilometres away now have free access to clean water on the site and carry away around 5,000 litres a day.
“Worldwide, 400,000 people had access to water and sanitation last year around our manufacturing facilities and in Farmer Connect areas, meaning we met out 2016 target early,” says Bee.
“Working with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies (IFRC), we have helped provide 196,546 people in Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa communities with clean drinking water and sanitation facilities and in Southeast Asia we have managed to get water education onto the school curriculum at the same time as installing wells in the playgrounds.
“Through education initiatives, we are helping our employees, suppliers and consumers to improve their understanding of the importance of water conservation and stewardship. Just small behavioural differences can make a big difference,” says Bee, “and these do not always require significant investment.
“However, one of our main challenges is that different water-stressed areas present different problems and call for different solutions so although water scarcity is a global problem, the solution is often local.”
This is why, says Bee, it is essential to work proactively with governments, local communities and institutions and suppliers as well as with NGOs, research institutions and, importantly, Public Private Partnerships.
“Moreover, our experience shows us the necessity of working with credible expert partners in order to deliver water access solutions at scale.”
Nestlé was the IFRC’s first corporate partner in 2002 and over the past twenty years has sponsored the global education programme WET. Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe plays a leading role in the public-private-civil society collaboration 2030 Water Resources Group (2030 WRG) which he currently chairs.
As part of its Global Water Stewardship Master Plan at corporate level, 133 Nestlé factories have undergone a water resources review and the company is carrying out 376 water saving projects in its factories which will save some 1.84 million m3 of water. By the end of next year, water savings projects will be implemented in all 31 high priority manufacturing facilities, in other words those in water stressed areas or with high water usage.
“Nevertheless, it is improving the water efficiency of our complex agricultural supply chain that is probably our greatest challenge,’ says Bee. ‘Nestlé works directly with around 695,000 farmers, providing a wide range of support, from drought-resistant plantlets, to sharing information about agricultural methods that maintain a strong crop yield, while using less water.
“Working with our producers also makes sense because if we can help them to be more efficient, we benefit from their increased loyalty. For example, we have educated our dairy producers in China to store their manure rather than drain it into the ground water. Now, using biogas digesters, they are turning the methane into cooking fuel.”
Good water stewardship is not cheap, of course. Last year some CHF 24 million was approved to spend on water-saving programmes in factories. But not only is the investment essential if Nestlé is to continue but the efficiencies effected by good water management bring significant cost savings, for example in effluent, extraction and electricity charges.
“We believe there is a clear and compelling economic case for businesses to demonstrate leadership by addressing this situation,” says Bee. “Food manufacturers are not alone in their high use of water. Other industrial sectors are significant water users, too. It is in all of our interests to act on this issue.”
This is why, last year, Nestlé, in addition to being a founding signatory of the UN Global Compact CEO Water Mandate, became one of the first signatories of the The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) Pledge, committing to providing access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene at all of its direct workplace premises within three years.
If all WBCSD member companies signed the WASH Pledge it would represent 15 million employees worldwide.