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At Nestlé, we are passionate about unlocking the power of food to enhance quality of life for everyone, today and every day, for generations to come, says Kieran Conroy, Country Manager at Nestlé Ireland.

Creating Shared Value

We believe that long-term success goes hand in hand with creating value for our partners and shareholders, and for society as a whole. As the world’s leading nutrition and health-and-wellness company, working to create social, environmental and economic value is central to how we do business.

We believe that we can have a positive impact and strive to improve the lives of people and pets through our products, whilst respecting and enhancing our environment. We recognise that consumers, customers, and all our stakeholders quite rightly desire businesses to contribute to, and take a leadership position on, efforts to overcome society’s greatest challenges.

For Nestlé, our roadmap to be a positive force includes our extensive efforts to combat climate change and food poverty, as well as taking meaningful steps to ensure that we are accountable for ethical sourcing, reducing and eliminating emissions in our supply chains, and providing innovative solutions to packaging and food waste.

Good For Our Planet

Nestlé’s Net to Zero – As the ‘Good Food, Good Life’ company, we believe that good food also respects our planet and protects resources for future generations. Our aim is to grow our business whilst reducing our impacts on the environment, through a sustainability strategy for each of our brands, and for our company as a whole. We have made bold commitments to reduce packaging waste and mitigate climate change.

Nestlé published its global Net Zero Roadmap, which sets out our plan to cut our carbon emissions in half by 2030, and to be net-zero by 2050. This detailed strategy includes supporting farmers and suppliers across the world to advance regenerative agriculture. It involves transitioning to 100% renewable electricity at all our operations by 2025, sourcing our ingredients sustainably, evolving our packaging, transforming our product portfolio, and removing carbon from the atmosphere. Importantly, the commitment extends right across the entire Nestlé supply chain.

In Association with

Our Wyeth Nutrition facility, in Askeaton, Co. Limerick, recently became the first manufacturing site in Ireland to receive the highest-possible certification under the rigorous Global Alliance for Water Stewardship Standard. Askeaton has reduced its water usage by over 30% and has educated all employees on respecting and reducing water usage at home and in the factory.

100% Of Packaging Recyclable Or Reusable By 2025

Nestlé continues to lead the way in reducing packaging and increasing the quantity of recyclable materials that it uses. Building on our commitment to make 100% of our packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025, Nestlé is reducing its use of virgin plastics by one third in the same period, whilst working with others to advance the circular economy and endeavour to clean up plastic waste from oceans, lakes and rivers.

In working towards reaching our packaging target, we inaugurated the Nestlé Institute of Packaging Sciences – the first of its kind in the food industry – to accelerate our efforts to bring functional, safe, and environmentally friendly packaging solutions to market. We are investing up to €1.9b to accelerate the development of innovative, sustainable packaging solutions that protect our food and our planet.

KitKat has become the first advertiser in the Irish market to use 100% recycled paper for its outdoor advertising campaign. The campaign to launch KitKat Zebra used green printing techniques on 100% recycled paper.

Smarties is the world’s first global confectionery brand to use sustainably sourced and recyclable material – replacing 250 million plastic Smarties packs.

In Ireland and the UK, SMA Nutrition and Nestlé Health Science are rolling out new bio-based packaging materials for scoops and lids on tins made from sugar cane. The bio-based plastic is made from a renewable plant material that can be continually replenished and absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

The Nestlé Cocoa Plan and the Nescafé Plan aim to improve the lives of cocoa and coffee farmers and the quality of their products – we are the first confectionery company in Ireland to use 100% certified sustainable cocoa for all our confectionery.

We have also launched a series of sustainable, plant-based products that are beneficial to the planet with Wunda our latest innovation available in Ireland. The new plant-based milk alternative is made from yellow split peas, giving it a neutral, refreshing taste.

Nestlé uses only cage-free eggs in all our food products in Europe, meeting a pledge that we made in 2017. As part of its wider commitment to animal welfare, Nestlé is partnering with Compassion in World Farming and leading food companies in calling on EU policymakers to phase out the use of cages in animal farming, starting with laying hens.

Good For Our People And Communities

During the pandemic, Nestlé Ireland significantly increased its support to help where it could in the community. It increased its assistance with existing community partners and forged new relationships with multiple NGOs, community organisations, and various charities nationwide – all with the aim of aiding those working on the frontline or the most vulnerable in our country.

Nestlé provided supports of almost €300,000 to a host of amazing organisations that are acting as positive forces in their communities. These included FoodCloud, Pieta House, the Irish Red Cross, the DSPCA, and the HSE – during Covid-19, Nestlé Ireland contributed over 47,000 products – the Order of Malta Ireland, the Irish Cancer Society, and the Dublin and Cork Simon Communities.

• Pieta House – Nestlé Ireland’s staff charity is Pieta House. In the last year, our people sought to activate additional, innovative opportunities to help Pieta House, which, like many charities, saw its fundraising events decimated during Covid-19, whilst seeing the demand and need for its mental-health supports increase significantly.

• FoodCloud – Since 2018, Nestlé Ireland has been the only food supplier to provide all its surplus food to FoodCloud whilst making a per-pallet financial contribution. In the wake of Covid-19, FoodCloud saw increased requests of up to 150% from food banks around the country. Whilst Nestlé was providing significant donations of additional stock from its portfolio (coffee, confectionery, cereals, etc.) on an ongoing basis, we also provided over 115,000 meals in Ireland – some 60,000 alone were for those most disadvantaged in our society.

By donating our surplus stock, approximately 117.7 tonnes of CO2 was saved from going to waste. We invested €110,000 with FoodCloud to establish an innovative pilot project: to fund food staples for disadvantaged families experiencing food poverty.

• Simon Community – Nestlé Ireland has partnered with the Simon Community for over a decade, to play a role assisting it in the invaluable work that it does, offering support, housing, and vital services to people who are homeless or at risk. We are proud to have provided over 3.5 million cups of coffee and thousands of KitKats to support its housing services.

• Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA) – Our petcare business Purina has been a proud partner of the DSPCA for the past 15 years. Purina continues to be a lifeline to the animals that come into the charity’s care, providing all of the food for the rescued kittens, cats, puppies and dogs in the rescue and rehoming centre.

Almost 200,000 Purina PRO PLAN meals have been donated to animals in the care of the DSPCA. Most recently, Purina partnered with the charity on the new television series The Shelter: Animal SOS, which aired on RTÉ One, showcasing the passion and dedication of the DSPCA in the work that it does every day for the protection of our animal friends.

Diversity And Inclusion

Nestlé Ireland was awarded the prestigious Investors in Diversity Gold Accreditation from the Irish Centre for Diversity, in recognition of its commitment to diversity and inclusion. Nestlé is only the second company in Ireland to achieve the gold standard of accreditation.

In 2020, Nestlé Ireland received the Corporate Impact Award from the Irish Red Cross, in recognition of the company’s ‘contribution to humanitarian causes and for making a positive impact on society’.

Photo: Kieran Conroy with the Investors in Diversity Gold Accreditation from the Irish Centre for Diversity (Pic: Marc O'Sullivan)