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
Effluents and waste G4-DMA
Our actions to reduce food waste
Research and
development
Our plant science initiatives support the development of varieties of coffee and cocoa plants that are
higher yielding, and more drought and disease resistant, reducing the number of plants that farmers
lose to disease or climate-related issues.
Nestlé assesses and optimises environmental performance, including that related to food wastage,
throughout the value chain from the earliest stage in the development of new or renovated products.
For example, we initiated a research project in France to define the carrot cultivars that best match
consumer preferences. The project resulted in more uniformly shaped carrots, which reduces waste in
harvesting, and higher dry matter content, which reduces waste in processing and improves
efficiency.
Nestlé’s R&D network also looks for innovative waste-recovery options to optimise value. In our
Product Technology Centre in Orbe, Switzerland, Nestlé was authorised by veterinarian services at a
regional (canton) level to use cereal by-products as feed for cattle or pigs.
Agriculture
Nestlé supports the farming communities where it sources agricultural raw materials. We provide
technical assistance to help avoid pre-harvest losses through yield improvement and reduce postharvest
losses through optimising the delivery of raw materials to the factory.
In the milk supply chain, we’ve provided cooling facilities to farmers in developing countries that
have reduced milk losses, thereby saving water, energy and GHG emissions, as well as money. In
Pakistan, in the district of Renala, we have more than halved the losses of milk between the cooling
facilities and the factory. And our Grains Quality Improvement Project is working towards a 60%
reduction in mycotoxin contamination levels in the cereal grains we source for our cereal brands in
Central and West Africa. This is being achieved through a combination of good agricultural, drying and
storage practices, and capacity-building training sessions from Nestlé agronomists. In 2015, 14 660
African farmers were trained and are now able to produce grains with mycotoxin levels within Nestlé
standards (four parts per billion), meaning less grain is thrown away.
Similarly, up to 30% of the rice and maize used to make Nestlé infant cereals in Central and West
Africa were being lost to mould when stored and handled inappropriately in the humid environment.
Nestlé Nutrition provided intensive training to 30 000 farmers on proper harvesting methods and even
employed a theatre group to share best practice in an engaging way.
In Brazil, Nestlé’s NATA (Centre of Authorised Technical Assistance) programme is helping dairy
farmers to better manage their farms and avoid pre-harvest losses through sustainable improvements
in yield. Nestlé is working with local institutes to train farmers to further increase milk production and
quality, while meeting the terms of The Nestlé Supplier Code and the Nestlé Responsible Sourcing
Guideline. Agronomists visit farmers periodically to monitor dairy activities and help them make
informed decisions to improve their profitability, environmental and social performance, and
sustainability. The 900 farmers participating in the programme have more than doubled the growth
rate of milk production.
In our factories and distribution centres, our goal is zero waste for disposal by 2020; currently, this has
been achieved in 105 factories. We are also working towards maximising the value of recycled or
recovered materials from our operations, and provide donations to food banks in 20 countries.
Factories
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