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Caring for water | Nestlé Central and West Africa

Water is the source of life, a basic human right and vital to our entire value chain, yet sources are unevenly distributed across the planet. These need to be managed responsibly to secure the supply needed for food production and support access to safe, clean water.


28.7% reduction in water withdrawals per tonne of product since 2010

578 new water-saving initiatives implemented at our production sites in 2017

722 379 people around the world benefiting from our WASH programmes to date

Our approach

We aim to be responsible stewards of water, ensuring it is available and managed sustainably, protecting it through high-profile collaborations, treating the water we use as effectively as possible, supporting our supply chain in the use of water, educating communities in how to use water efficiently, and improving access to water and sanitation.

Nestlé Pakistan launches local water plan

In October 2017, we reiterated our commitment to reduce water consumption in Pakistan by 35% through a coalition led by Lahore University of Management Sciences and WWF. Our approach seeks to preserve and protect water resources by leveraging research and technology to reduce and recycle water, introduce sustainable agricultural techniques to cut down on water use, and provide local communities with greater access to clean, safe water.

Zero water technology comes to California

We are installing our award-winning zero water withdrawal technology in our Modesto plant in California, saving a potential 286 million litres a year from 2018. The technology, which uses water extracted from milk processing rather than from fresh sources, was first implemented in Mexico in 2014. Since then, we have replicated it in other factories in Brazil, South Africa, India, Pakistan and China.

Raising our water stewardship standards

Nestlé Waters is strengthening its collaboration with the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) by certifying 20 of its factories by 2020. The company has already certified four Nestlé Waters bottling facilities (one in Pakistan and three in California) and plans to certify more sites in Africa, Asia, Canada, Europe, Latin America and the United States.

New technology to combat sludge

Our Bear Brand and Coffeemate factory at Tanauan in the Philippines used to produce around 20 tonnes of sludge a day, incurring additional costs associated with removal and chemical treatment. But new anaerobic digestion technology, which uses far less energy and water than conventional production methods, has reduced the daily volume to around 3 tonnes. This project also saves CHF 400 000 a year and avoids 2000 tonnes of direct CO2 emissions.

Hands-on help through Manos al Agua

The Manos al Agua project empowers Colombian coffee farmers to develop regional solutions for water management and tackling climate change. Focused on the social, environmental and economic benefits of intelligent water management, the project is supported by Nespresso and Nescafé, in partnership with the national coffee growers’ federation (FNC), the national coffee research centre (Cenicafé), and other local and international partners.