Insight: improving our products' performance along the value chain
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
Nestlé S.A. /
Insight: improving our products' performance along the value chain
. Processed and transmitted by Thomson Reuters ONE.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
By Claus Conzelmann, Nestlé's Global Head of Safety, Health and Environmental
Sustainability
The food production chain uses a large share of the world's limited resources,
which is why as the world's leading food and beverage company we recognise our
position brings responsibilities as well as opportunities.
At Nestlé our goal is to produce products that are not only tastier and
healthier, but also better for the environment. It's a challenge we approach by
looking at every stage of production, from farm to fork, and targeting areas for
improvement.
We've already made significant progress, initially focusing mainly on our own
direct operations. Since 2002, we've halved our water withdrawal and direct
greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) per tonne of product.
This was possible because over the last ten years we set ourselves tangible
continuous improvement goals for which we could be held accountable.
We've embraced new technologies, such as using spent coffee grounds as a clean
source of renewable energy and advanced filtration to recycle water within our
factories, especially in regions where water is scarce.
Switching to cleaner energy
Climate change may exacerbate environmental challenges such as the availability
of clean water, which in turn will directly affect the long-term availability of
the raw materials from which we make our products.
In Mexico, we have an agreement with a wind energy company that has led to 85%
of the total electricity consumed by our factories in the country now being
supplied by wind power. Our estimates show this will reduce greenhouse gas
emissions equivalent to taking 39,000 small cars off the road annually.
In France, our factories in Challerange, Rosières and Herta St Pol have all
installed wood-fired boilers that use woodchips from certified forests. The
factory in Challerange is meeting 96% of its fuel needs with its boiler, saving
about 8,000 tonnes of CO(2) per year.
In total, the three boilers will reduce Nestlé France's annual CO(2) emissions
by a quarter.
Smarter distribution
More than 125,000 tonnes of Nestlé products are transported to customers from
our factories and distribution centres every day.
We've found that smarter route planning and shifting to different modes of
transport can have a marked positive impact on greenhouse gas emissions, noise
and road congestion.
In Poland we managed to decrease GHG emissions by a fifth last year by
relocating one of our distribution centres. The move also lowered distribution
costs by a quarter and cut 60 km off each domestic delivery journey.
Across Europe in 2011 we achieved a reduction of more than 5,000 tonnes of CO(2)
emissions by switching from long-distance road transportation to either rail or
short-sea shipping.
Optimising packaging
In the United Kingdom, we expect to halve the number of lorries used to
distribute Nescafé by introducing new lighter-weight coffee refill packs.
The new packs are made from a combination of aluminium-foil and plastic film.
They use more than a third fewer packaging materials than before but still hold
the same amount of coffee.
This means we can double the volume of coffee packs on a pallet, using fewer
lorries and reducing GHG emissions from product distribution by more than a
third.
The new packs also require less water and energy to manufacture compared with
the previous refill pack. Their compact size makes them easier for retailers to
stack on shelves and for shoppers to carry and store at home.
Eliminating waste
Reducing waste helps to conserve natural resources. Since 2002, we've reduced
the amount of waste for disposal we generate in our factories by almost half per
tonne of product. Last year, 39 of our factories achieved zero waste for
disposal.
The factories process by-products from the manufacturing process for use in farm
animal feed, composting or making biogas. Leftover metals, plastics, paper, cans
and cardboard are processed by our contractors and become raw materials that can
be used for new purposes.
Further up the value chain, we're training farmers to improve crop quality and
storage to reduce food losses in agriculture and post-harvesting, and to foster
more sustainable farming practices in general.
Helping consumers
At the same time we're helping consumers to improve their own environmental
impact, such as cutting down on the amount of food they throw away by providing
various portion size options, clear portion guidance and preparation
instructions.
For example, did you know that boiling the water for a cup of Nescafé is the
most resource intensive step in the whole value chain?
Many people tend to boil more water than needed. Individually, this may seem
negligible, but if all 5,500 people who prepare a cup of Nescafé every second
boiled the correct amount of water, it would save more energy than that used by
all 27 of our Nescafé factories.
Product life cycle assessments we've conducted show that thanks to the
efficiency of our high-tech industrial coffee machines in these factories,
producing a cup of Nescafé uses only half the total resources required to
produce a traditional cup of filter coffee.
Our commitments
Although we've done a lot to improve our products' environmental performance,
there is always more to do.
This is why we're sharing publicly for the first time a set of commitments to
society and on environmental sustainability we want to achieve by 2020 or
earlier.
While we believe all parts of society share responsibility for the environment,
our company policy on environmental sustainability reflects our determination to
play a leading role in our sphere of influence. It is our ambition that our
products will not only be tastier and healthier but also better for the
environment along their value chain.
Making our products more environmentally sustainable gives consumers another
reason to prefer them. More importantly, it is the right thing to do.
Media enquiries
Tel: +41 21 924 2200
Email: mediarelations(at)nestle.com
This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of
Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Nestlé S.A. via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1700312]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 08.05.2013 - 09:52 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 257460
Anzahl Zeichen: 7582
contact information:
Town:
Vevey
Kategorie:
Business News
Diese Pressemitteilung wurde bisher 149 mal aufgerufen.
Die Pressemitteilung mit dem Titel:
"Insight: improving our products' performance along the value chain"
steht unter der journalistisch-redaktionellen Verantwortung von
Nestlé S.A. (Nachricht senden)
Beachten Sie bitte die weiteren Informationen zum Haftungsauschluß (gemäß TMG - TeleMedianGesetz) und dem Datenschutz (gemäß der DSGVO).
