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-EN2, G4-EN28, Supplier environmental assessment G4-DMA
To help reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in the
ocean, Nestlé Waters joined the Trash Free Seas Alliance in
2012, a partnership developed by the NGO Ocean
Conservancy to address the problem of marine debris. Trialling
new integrated waste management plans in two or three cities
in Asia, Ocean Conservancy will work with local leaders to
improve collection, landfill site remediation, recycling and
energy-from-waste generation. The plans, which will be locally
tailored, are intended to demonstrate the feasibility of the
plans, and to develop a replicable model that can be adopted
by the other cities and regions. With a budget of approximately
CHF 1.2 million per city, the project – if successful – could help
avoid the significant cost to governments and industry caused
by marine debris. It could also improve human health and the
environment, and create many new jobs.
Through a global study with Der Grüne Punkt – Duales
System Deutschland GmbH, a leading German producer
responsibility scheme, we evaluated the recycling rates of
different used packaging materials around the world in 2012.
This data is updated annually and is crucial for accurately
assessing the overall environmental performance of packaging
concepts via our ecodesign tools.
Public spaces recycling
programme in Manitoba
Nestlé Waters is committed to optimising the environmental
performance of its packaging through recycling. The company
co-founded the Canadian Beverage Container Recycling
Association (CBCRA), a not-for-profit organisation committed
to reaching the Government target of recovering 75% of
beverage containers sold in Manitoba.
Nestlé Waters Canada and the Canadian beverage industry
established Canada’s first permanent public spaces programme
in Manitoba in April 2010, which manages and funds 80% of
Manitoba’s curbside recycling programme, as well as 100% of
its public spaces recycling and 100% of its industrial,
commercial and institutional recycling. Complemented by
continuous public education and communications, it was the
first programme of its kind in the world.
When the public spaces recycling programme – which
captures items typically abandoned by consumers in parks and
recreational facilities, bus stops, bars and restaurants, schools,
shops and petrol stations – began, the province had a 42%
recycling rate for beverage containers – the worst rate in
Canada. But over the last four years, the recycling rate has
increased by 50%, making the CBCRA model the fastestgrowing
recycling programme in North America. Having
achieved a 64% recycling rate in 2014, CBCRA Manitoba
remains on track to achieve 75% by December 2016.
Using recycled materials
We use recycled materials for our packaging where they are
proven by LCA studies to be equal or better in environmental
performance, and do not jeopardise the quality, performance,
safety or consumer acceptance of our products.
Total % of recycled material in our packaging
2015 28.1
2014 26.8
2013 27.1
In 2015, more than a quarter of our packaging was derived
from recycled materials, but increasing that percentage is not
easy due to a number of challenges. For instance, only 27% of
the cardboard we use consists of recycled fibre, largely
because its mechanical properties, such as strength and
stiffness, are often inferior to virgin material. This means the
thickness of the recycled cardboard required for cereal boxes
would cancel out any environmental benefit. Recycled material
can also contain contaminants, such as ink residues and
mineral oils, preventing us from using it in direct food contact.
Recycled PET (rPET) is the only recycled plastic currently
used in direct contact with food and beverage products. We
use it in a number of countries where it has similar or better
environmental performance than virgin PET, and where it
helps incentivise consumers, communities and other
stakeholders to collect and recycle packaging. For example,
Herta uses 25% to 30% rPET in trays in France, and Nestlé
Waters uses anywhere from 25% to 100% rPET in some
regional and national brands.
Nestlé Waters North America has launched its first 100%
rPET bottle in the United States. Bottles of Resource Natural
Spring Water are now made entirely of recycled plastic,
excluding the cap and label.
We believe that using recycled PET can help increase
recycling rates by focusing attention on the value of
recycling. Nestlé Waters has a strong history of
sustainable innovation and product stewardship
advocacy, and the 100% rPET bottle aims to
continue that legacy by increasing awareness of
closed-loop recycling.”
Debora Fillis Ryba, Senior Manager of
Sustainability, Nestlé Waters North America
Some materials such as steel, aluminium and glass are widely
recycled, the performance of recycled material is virtually
identical to virgin material and the recycling process consumes
less energy than the production of virgin materials. In these
sectors, all initiatives to improve collection and recycling
directly contribute to increasing recycled content and to
improving the environmental performance of our packaging.
Nestlé in society – Creating Shared Value and meeting our commitments 2015 190