Nestlé’s commitment to creating shared value in Canada focuses on the areas of our business that align with areas important to Canadian society. Specifically, Creating Shared Value in Canada means:
- Creating quality jobs and economic vitality
- Enhancing the nutrition, health and wellness of Canadians
- Minimizing our impact on the environment
- And ensuring we make a positive difference in the communities where we live and work
It’s through Creating Shared Value that we are able to focus on long-term, sustainable business practices that benefit both the company and society. Creating Shared Value goes beyond philanthropy, by leveraging core activities and partnerships for the joint benefit of the people in the countries where we operate and for our shareholders.
Our commitments
Our Creating Shared Value report outlines how we’re progressing on 25 key commitments in the areas of nutrition, rural development and responsible sourcing, water, environmental sustainability, and our people, human rights and compliance.
These commitments provide transparency, allowing Canadians to hold us accountable, while providing Nestle with a path for continuous improvement in all areas of our business.
Key achievements in 2013
While the 2013 Creating Shared Value report outlines our progress in detail, some key achievements include:
- Nestlé Canada entering into a research partnership with the Program in Food Safety, Nutrition and Regulatory Affairs at the University of Toronto, to better understand the nutrient intakes of Canadians throughout the lifespan
- A number of our brands working to achieve sodium, sugar and fat reduction targets
- Delivering over 350 Maternal and Infant Nutrition Lecture Series presentations in Canada through our Nutrition business, reaching more than 1300 healthcare practitioners with science and clinical practice updates for primary allergy prevention, probiotic use in paediatrics, management and treatment of colic and vitamin D supplementation for infants and toddlers
- Sourcing 4 million kg of cocoa through the Nestlé Cocoa Plan, to use in Canada. This accounts for 100% of the cocoa we use at our Sterling Road facility and 70% of our total confectionery products made or sold in Canada
- Achieving zero waste to landfill at our Sterling Road factory in Toronto
Sourcing 902,161kg of palm oil, of which 100% was certified sustainable (RSPO) and 50% traceable. We also sourced 466,945 kg of vanilla that was 100% responsibly sourced - Making a number of improvements to our packaging, saving:
- 10,336 kg of paperboard
- 20,678 kg of flexible film (used in ice cream and chocolate bar wrappers)
- 17,041 kg of corrugate
- Nestlé Waters Canada donating 1 million bottles of water for emergency relief, including Red Cross Disaster Relief efforts over the past two years, helping many Canadian communities during times of crisis
- Giving more than $2.5 million to community partners and programs through financial donations, product donations and employee fundraising efforts