Nestlé’s corporate water strategy over time: a backward- and forward-looking view

ABSTRACT

Water is essential for the food industry, including sourcing, production, distribution and consumption. This article documents the journey taken by Nestlé with regard to water since the early 2000s. We take a deeper dive into its most recent corporate initiative, Caring for Water, and make a first attempt to quantify the impact of this initiative on the business and society, within a mindset of creating shared value. The article concludes by trying to draw out some general lessons that may be further explored to strengthen future corporate initiatives. The overall importance of collaboration is highlighted as a critical ingredient.

KEYWORDS:

• Water resources
• water stewardship
• creating shared value
• corporate action
• collective action

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary material

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