Nestlé Pakistan recently released its 2020 sustainability study, titled ‘Nestlé in Society: Creating Shared Value (CSV),’ which highlights the company’s three primary global focus areas: individuals and families, communities, and the earth, all of which align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Samer Chedid, CEO of Nestlé Pakistan, highlighted Nestlé’s CSV ideology, saying, “Creating Shared Value remains the basic guiding principle for how we do business.” We assume that we can achieve long-term sustainability by building value for both our shareholders and the broader community.”
“Our company’s health is inextricably linked to the health and resilience of the community in which we operate; this is why Nestlé’s mission is to unleash the power of food to improve people’s quality of life today and for future generations,” Chedid added.
Chedid added that Nestlé Pakistan’s CSV initiatives were aimed at solving the country’s challenges. “We are taking steps and implementing numerous measures to demonstrate our Respect for the Future in our manufacturing facilities and beyond. Our global focus areas are inextricably linked to our mission, and our activities in each of these areas align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” Chedid explained. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic struck the entire world, including Pakistan. Nestlé Pakistan aided disadvantaged communities by donating 4 million servings of milk, iron-fortified dairy products, infant cereals, water, and juice to fulfill the nutritional needs of both affected individuals and frontline staff.
The report highlights initiatives such as the Nestlé for Healthier Kids (N4HK) initiative, which reached over 250,000 children this year and trained over 1300 teachers on nutrition awareness in 310 schools across the country, following UN SDG 3. (Good Health & Well Being).
Another CSV initiative, the Nestlé-BISP Rural Women Sales Program funded through the government’s Ehsaas program, has assisted over 1500 BISP beneficiaries in obtaining employment as rural sales agents. Meanwhile, Nestlé Pakistan’s partnership with Akhuwat to increase beneficiaries’ access to microfinance has helped 147 rural women to expand their microenterprises, as part of Nestlé’s commitment to UN Sustainable Development Goals 5 (Gender Equality) and 8 (Microfinance) (Decent Work & Economic Growth).
Regarding other sustainability initiatives at Nestlé Pakistan, Waqar Ahmad, Head of Corporate Affairs & Sustainability at Nestlé Pakistan, said, “Our Global Sustainability Roadmap is built on four pillars: Climate Change; Sustainable Packaging; Water Conservation; and Responsible Sourcing.”
“We are committed to a waste-free future by ensuring that 100 percent of our packaging is recyclable or recycled by 2025 and to addressing climate change by halving our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (by half) and reaching net zero emissions by 2050,” he said.
Water is a shared and valuable resource that all users must handle sustainably. Nestlé Pakistan’s ‘Caring for Water – Pakistan’ project, in collaboration with organizations such as LUMS, UVAS, WWF Pakistan, SDPI, and PARC, has contributed to the conservation of 428 million liters of water by 2020 by building drip irrigation systems on 152 acres, by UN SDG 6 and 17. “To assist in realising our vision of a waste-free world, we are stepping up our efforts to combat packaging waste. We’ve also partnered with the World Bank Group and the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to launch “Travel Responsibly for Experiencing Ecotourism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (TREK),” a campaign aimed at promoting Responsible Tourism through awareness campaigns and training of local communities,” Waqar added.
In collaboration with the district administration, Gilgit-Baltistan Waste Management Company, and Karakoram Area Development Organization, the company continued the Clean Hunza Project. The project focuses on waste segregation and recycling in Hunza and Gilgit by promoting responsible plastic waste management to eliminate waste in Hunza and Gilgit and encourage sustainable tourism.