Nestlé is on a mission to cut waste and improve efficiency in all it’s factories. “We are proud to celebrate our 150th anniversary as it not only demonstrates the dedication of our people and the strength of our products and brands, it’s also a confirmation of our vision of a sustainable business,” said Shelley Martin, President and CEO, Nestlé Canada. “At Nestlé, we believe that to be successful in the long-run we must create shared value not only for ourselves, but also for society, at every step of the value chain. We are committed to creating a positive impact through our operations and products – from the farmers who supply our ingredients, to our employees, consumers and the communities where we operate.”
Their goals are wonderfully lofty:
- Achieve zero waste for disposal within factories by 2020
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 35% by 2020
- Reduce water usage 35% by 2020
Achieving these Green Goals
Numerous projects have been initiated to meet these ambitious targets. In 2014-2015, Nestlé invested in waste management and, thanks to focused improvement projects, have achieved zero waste to landfill in their ice-cream factory in London and in a chocolate factory in Toronto. The Nestlé Purina pet food plant in Mississauga, as well as the Nestlé Professional Plant in Trenton also reached zero waste to landfill.
In Trenton, organic waste is used to produce biogas through a partnership with a local farming operation. This biogas is then combusted to generate electricity and heat. The digester at the local farm has the capacity to generate 750 kilowatts of electricity, which is enough to power over 500 households.
Purina’s “war on waste” began in 2010, and since then the company has reduced waste to landfills in North America by over 21 percent. To date, Nestlé Purina has five of its North American factories have achieved zero waste to landfill status (including the Mississauga plant).
All Nestlé businesses contribute to this war on waste. Also on the recycling side. In June 2015, Nespresso opened the first coffee-pod recycling plant in the Province of Québec, at Saint-Jean sur Richelieu. Once sorted, the aluminium of the capsules is infinitely recyclable while the ground coffee can be reused as compost.
Nestlé Waters has also recently redesigned the Nestlé Pure Life PET bottles. As a result, the The Eco-Shape® 500 ml bottle contains 60% less plastic than the bottles provided in 2000. This has allowed Nestlé to reduce the amount of energy they use by 50% annually and greenhouse gas emissions by 45% since 2000.
Furthermore, by recycling the corrugated containers used in their facilities, they have diverted 96% of this valuable commodity from landfill and have saved 20 million pounds of paper since 2008 by reducing the size of labels by 35%.
We never can highlight enough the importance of recycling. The material that is recovered finds again its place in the value chain. For instance, Nestlé Waters’ Montclair 500ml bottle is made of 100% recycled PET plastic.
This post was sponsored by Nestlé Canada.