Nestlé in society Creating Shared Value and meeting our commitments 2015

Nestlé in society:
Creating Shared Value
Nutrition, health
and wellness
Rural development
Water
Environmental
sustainability
Human rights
and compliance
Our
people
G4-2, G4-18, G4-19, G4-21, G4-23, G4-26, G4-45, G4-EN30
Materiality
To be successful, a company cannot afford to ignore what the world thinks about it. Intergovernmental bodies and
NGOs, think tanks and socially responsible investors all take a forensic interest in different aspects of a company’s
activities and their impacts. Social media gives everyone direct access to a communications suite that would have
been impossible a decade ago. We listen to our critics and engage with them. Often, our stakeholders have very
specific interests and this can be a challenge for us. Which issues should be prioritised? Nestlé uses a formal
materiality process to identify the most important issues for our critics, our stakeholders and our business. We
have shared the process and analysis in this chapter.
The materiality process
To identify the issues that matter most to our business and our
stakeholders, we work with an independent organisation,
using a formal materiality process. After extensive
consultation, they plot environmental, social and governance
issues of concern. The findings are used to determine
associated risks and opportunities for Nestlé’s reputation,
operations and finances.
The issues are placed on a materiality matrix (see below)
that displays their position relative to the degree of stakeholder
concern and potential business impact. Together, the results
represent the material issues facing our business.
In 2014, we extended our materiality analysis as part of our
G4 reporting. The process featured a broader sample of
stakeholders and value chain analysis, allowing for greater
precision in the scoring and ranking of our material issues than
in previous years. It also included a robust assessment of
business impact, with greater attention to the concerns of
socially responsible investors and an independent review of
commercial relevance.
Since publication, we have continued to collect feedback
and input on the 2014 results. We have not identified
substantive changes to the issues Nestlé faces, our business
impacts or the interests of our stakeholders. We will complete
a full refresh of the materiality process for the 2016 report and
we expect to update the materiality results every two years.
The Nestlé value chain
Agriculture
Tier 1
suppliers
Nestlé
Retail/
business
channels
Consumers
Our material issues are considered and mapped with regard to
where they may impact our value chain. In the chain,
agriculture also includes smallholder farmers with whom we
do not have direct relationships. Tier 1 refers to suppliers in
direct commercial relationships with Nestlé.
Nestlé materiality matrix
Major
Human rights
Food and nutrition security
Natural capital
Climate change Water
stewardship
Business ethics Food safety
Overand
undernutrition
Stakeholder concern
Significant
Women’s empowerment
Rural development
Human resources
Food waste
Resource
efficiency
and waste
Community development
and unemployment
Traceability
Responsible
marketing
Maternal, infant and
young child nutrition
Moderate
Safety & health
Animal welfare
Moderate
Significant
Impact on Nestlé
Major
● Nutrition ● Rural development ● Water ● Environmental sustainability ● Our people, human rights and compliance
Nestlé in society – Creating Shared Value and meeting our commitments 2015 12