Nestle Waters will expand its current efforts to manage water sustainably 
and increase its collaboration with partners to identify and support local 
solutions. These solutions are designed to help regenerate the ecosystems in 
the areas around each of Nestle Waters' 48 sites. As of 2025, they will help 
nature retain more water than the business uses in its operations.
 
    The new initiative builds on the company's 2017 commitment to certify all 
of its Waters sites by the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) by 2025. This 
standard requires water users to understand and act collectively on water 
challenges. 

    Nestle will now use its expertise to advance the regeneration of local 
water cycles through the implementation of more than 100 projects for its 48 
sites by 2025. These new, measurable actions will support better water 
management and infrastructure. Some project examples include: 
    - Buxton [https://youtu.be/V2Zv11b7z30] – Land conservation (protecting 
land from development) and natural flood management interventions in 
Derbyshire, UK 
    -Vittel [https://youtu.be/huk7uxsJqq4]– River restoration and renaturation 
projects in Vosges, France 
    -Nestle Pure Life – Support for farmers to use drip irrigation in 
Sheikhupura, Pakistan 
    -Nestle Pure Life [https://youtu.be/a_NJEACmDKU] – The delivery of water 
treatment, filtration and pipeline infrastructure for the municipal water 
supply in Benha, Egypt 

    Nestle will invest CHF 120 million (USD 130 million) to assist the 
implementation of the more than 100 projects. 

    "Today, we are accelerating our journey to support the regeneration of 
local water cycles and are challenging ourselves to take bold new steps," said 
Muriel Lienau, Head of the Waters Business. "We want to play an active role in 
helping to conserve water resources everywhere we operate. To do so, we will 
work with many partners to develop tailored projects that help find local 
solutions." 

    Climate change, higher water consumption, growing urbanization and damaged 
infrastructure are some of the factors contributing to the deterioration of the 
natural water cycle. These trends are interfering with the predictability of 
precipitation and the availability of clean water. Additionally, rising 
temperatures and more extreme weather patterns are causing more flooding and 
droughts. 

    "As a business with a long heritage of nature protection and water 
stewardship, we want to go beyond the conservation of water sources to help 
regenerate and restore water cycles in the areas where we operate," said Cedric 
Egger, Head of Sustainability at Nestle Waters. "We know the water challenge is 
global, but it can only be tackled through local solutions. Now is the time to 
expand the scope of our actions. With Nestlé's presence around the world, we 
can learn from our many partners and contribute to solving the water challenges 
in the locations near our operations." 

    Nestle's work will be tailored to individual locations, needs and issues 
and will take a broader approach, going beyond its own operations. The company 
will work with local water users, communities, partners and global experts to 
identify, develop and progress projects specific to those challenges. As a 
founding member of the 2030 Water Resources Group 
[https://www.2030wrg.org/about-us/background/] (2030 WRG), Nestlé has a history 
of collaborating with leaders and experts from the public, private and civil 
society sectors to help design solutions for sustainable water management. The 
company will apply its experience and learnings from the 2030 WRG as well as 
from its many other partnerships in the implementation of the more than 100 
water projects outlined above. 

    All projects will be measurable, using the World Resources Institute's 
Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting (VWBA) methodology. This methodology 
provides consistency in analyzing water management activities and helps to 
ensure that such activities address current and future shared water challenges. 

    Using this methodology, a newly created external panel will review the 
relevance and sustainability of the projects and give feedback on whether they 
are helping to address the local challenges and opportunities. Nestle Waters 
will provide full transparency on the water usage at each of its sites and on 
what its projects contribute to the area.  

    Contacts: 
    Media: 
    Christoph Meier 
    mediarelations@nestle.com  

    Investors: 
    Luca Borlini 
    ir@nestle.com
    
    Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1553610/NESTLE_Logo.jpg  

    Source: Nestle