Press Release: Nestle: Nestlé to cut water use across Europe operations by 40%

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   March 21, 2014 04:00 ET (08:00 GMT)- - 04 00 AM EDT 03-21-14

-2 of 2- 21 Mar 2014 08:00:00 UTC  Press Release: Nestle: Nestlé to cut water use across Europe operations by 40%

Nestlé S.A. / Nestlé to cut water use across Europe operations by 40% . Processed and transmitted by Nasdaq OMX Corporate Solutions. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Nestlé has committed to making significant cuts to its water use in Europe, reducing water consumption by 40% across its European production sites by 2020 versus 2010 levels.

Already, Nestlé has reduced the water used in its European operations by 36% over the period between 2004 and 2010, after changes to production levels are taken into account.

"While water scarcity tends to be an issue that is more related to the South, it is highly relevant in Europe as well," said Laurent Freixe, Executive Vice President Europe.

Demand for water continues to rise, with water scarcity affecting one in ten people living in the European zone, according to the European Commission.

"We will meet these targets by combining training, changing behavior, quick wins and knock-on investments," Mr Freixe added.

Water for chocolate

In Spain, Nestlé's La Penilla factory has managed to reduce its water http://www.nestle.com/media/newsandfeatures/la-penilla use per tonne of product by almost two thirds in less than 12 months, thanks to a water efficiency programme and an investment of one million euros (CHF 1.2 million), including new cooling towers.

The UK's Girvan factory aims to recycle 0.5 million litres of water extracted from the milk used to make chocolate each day. Since 2009, the factory has already saved 40% of its water and, by 2014, intends to reduce water usage by 84%.

Globally, Nestlé has made a series of public commitments on water in its annual Creating Shared Value Report: http://www.nestle.com/asset-library/documents/library/documents/corporate_social_responsibility/nestle-csv-summary-report-2013-en.pdf (pdf, 3Mb).

Nestlé has already reduced overall water withdrawals per tonne of product by one-third since 2005 and has pledged to achieve a 40% reduction by the end of 2015.

In Europe, Nestlé carries out systematic reviews of water resources, identifying "hot-spots" where investment will be prioritised and targeted.

Since 2011, Nestlé has been using the concept of a notional cost to analyse water projects based on estimated water prices. The cost is used to evaluate investing in water reusing and recycling projects, by factoring in water scarcity to reflect the true value of water in that area.

Related information:

Nestlé and water

http://www.nestle.com/csv/water

Water in Nestlé's operations

http://www.nestle.com/csv/water/operations

Water Challenge Blog

http://www.water-challenge.com/default.aspx

Nestlé and Creating Shared Value

http://www.nestle.com/csv/what-is-csv

2013 Creating Shared Value Report (pdf, 3Mb)

http://www.nestle.com/asset-library/documents/library/documents/corporate_social_responsibility/nestle-csv-summary-report-2013-en.pdf

Nestlé Commitment on Water Stewardship (pdf, 200Kb)

http://www.nestle.com/asset-library/Documents/Reports/CSV%20reports/Water/water-stewardship-commitment.pdf

More stories about Nestlé and environmental sustainability:

Nestlé hits target of zero waste at UK factory

http://www.nestle.com/media/newsandfeatures/nestle-hits-target-of-zero-waste-uk-factory

Nestlé factory reduces water use by almost two thirds in less than 12 months

http://www.nestle.com/media/newsandfeatures/la-penilla

Nestlé USA pizza division reduces water usage

http://www.nestleusa.com/media/pressreleases/PizzaPlantReducesWaterUsage

Media enquiries

Nestlé Corporate Media Relations

Tel: +41 21 924 2200

Email: mediarelations@nestle.com

This announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Nestlé S.A. via Globenewswire

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   March 21, 2014 04:00 ET (08:00 GMT)- - 04 00 AM EDT 03-21-14