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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Nestlé is the first multinational company to publish forward-looking commitments to society in the Middle East, with the unveiling of the first regional “Nestlé in Society - Creating Shared Value” (CSV) report.

The report announces a 71% reduction in absolute waste for disposal, achieved between 2009 and 2014 while production increased by 62%; as well as 42% reduction in water withdrawal and 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of product manufactured over the same period.

It also covers 20 commitments published with specific objectives, which Nestlé aims to fulfill by 2017 or earlier, in the areas of Nutrition, Responsible Sourcing, Water, Environmental Sustainability, People, and Compliance.

“The report underlines Nestlé’s fundamental belief that, for a company to be successful over the long term, it must also value for society, and the commitments our determination to achieve this,” said Nestlé Middle East Chairman and CEO Yves Manghardt.

In the Middle East, where under-nutrition and obesity exist side by side, the regional report’s commitments focus on leading the industry in nutrition and health research, and providing nutritionally sound products designed for children to nurture healthier generations.

Specific commitments promote healthy diets and lifestyles, mainly through the Nestlé Healthy Kids Programme – Ajyal Salima, developed by the American University of Beirut and now in three countries in the region where it has reached over 16,000 children to date; Further provide nutritionally sound products designed for children, with three new products set to be launched by the end of 2015; Help reduce the risk of under-nutrition through micronutrient fortification, by providing 8.6 billion fortified food servings in the Middle East by the end of 2015, compared to 8 billion in 2014; Ensure responsible marketing communication to children; and market breast-milk substitutes responsibly.

Ongoing investments in scientific nutritional research, globally and in the region, and through external collaborations and partnerships with entities including the American University of Beirut, Jordan’s Royal Health Awareness Society, the Dubai Health Authority, and Saudi Arabia’s Tatweer Education Holding, aim to help Nestlé achieve these targets and continually and positively contribute to society’s nutrition, health and wellness needs.

Additional commitments entail managing the use of resources at Nestlé Middle East’s 18 factories, specifically water, to achieve efficiency across its operations; promoting environmental sustainability such as improving the environmental performance of packaging; and compliance with international, local and stringent internal regulations.

Other commitments focus on people – with actions to support youth employment in the Middle East including the example of the Nestlé Center of Excellence, a training academy founded in 2012 in Saudi Arabia and now also in Oman. It trains university graduates in the areas of business, nutrition, and sales, with specific focus on women to enhance gender balance at the workplace.

“In a world facing long-term economic, social and nutrition challenges that cannot be solved by governments alone, we believe that corporations have a role to play in contributing to solutions, and we made a conscious decision to publish commitments so we can play our role in tackling these problems,” concluded Manghardt.

“It takes concerted collective efforts to truly impact society positively, and we know that our actions in Creating Shared Value would not be the success they are nor sustainable without the support and trust of the various institutions, governments, and other entities we work with in the region – all of whose feedback we always look forward to hearing to help us further improve in the future.”