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Nestlé Announces Global Plan for Sustainable Coffee

info — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:16:12 +0000

Nestlé will invest CHF 500 million to address responsible farming, sourcing and consumption across its coffee supply chain. Under the Nescafé Plan, the company intends to double the amount of coffee it buys directly from farmers by 2016, and to reduce the environmental footprint of its coffee producing factories, among a series of objectives.

Nestlé is partnering with the Rainforest Alliance. This story has generated several entries in Covalence EthicalQuote on Monday and Tuesday this week, from English-, Spanish- and French-speaking news sources.

Nestlé has been progressing in Covalence EthicalQuote Ranking over the last three and a half years; the company’s score remains low in the Working Conditions criteria group.

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Usine de Nestlé en RD Congo, les avis divergent

info — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:12:09 +0000

Classé 182ème sur 183 pays pour la faiblesse de sa réglementation des affaires, selon le rapport Doing Business 2010 de la Banque Mondiale, la République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) n’a jamais été réellement attractive pour les investisseurs étrangers ces dernières décennies. Mais, encouragé par le train de mesures prises par le gouvernement Kabila en matière d’amélioration du climat des affaires -nouvelle adhésion à l’Organisation pour l’harmonisation en Afrique du droit des affaires (Ohada), par exemple-, Nestlé vient de franchir le pas : depuis deux mois, le géant suisse de l’agroalimentaire a démarré la construction d’une usine de production de produits culinaires (bouillon-cubes) et de café dans la zone industrielle de Kinshasa, pour un coût global de 40 millions de francs suisses. Un investissement qui va « faciliter la disponibilité et l’adaptation de sa gamme de produits pour quelque 70 millions de consommateurs Congolais, soit un énorme marché en Afrique », souligne Philip Bassem, directeur général de Nestlé Congo. Image: howwemadeitinafrica.com. More…

Message received by Covalence | Country: DRC | Company: Nestlé | Source: InfoSud, via mediacongo.net | Correspondent: Jean Marie Bolika Lokumbo; Initiative Locale pour le Développement Intégré

Kit Kat spat goes viral despite Nestlé’s efforts

info — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:13:04 +0000

Now you see it, now you don’t. Wait: Now you do. A global game of Whack-a-Mole broke out Wednesday on the Internet when YouTube removed a gruesome anti-Nestlé commercial by Greenpeace after the multinational food giant complained, only to have viewers flock to the video-sharing site Vimeo.com, where the spot became an instant cause célèbre because of the reputed censorship. The 60-second video depicts a bored office worker enjoying a Kit Kat, which rather than being the popular chocolate-hazelnut ladyfinger-style confection, appears to be a chocolate-covered ape finger. As he munches on the treat, it oozes blood over his chin and across his keyboard, shocking his co-workers. “Have a break?” reads the on-screen text. “Give the orangu-tan a break.” (…) The protest action highlighted yesterday’s release of a Greenpeace report alleging that Nestlé and the Indonesian industrial giant Sinar Mas, which supplies the food company with palm oil and is also a major pulp-and-paper supplier, are “partners in crime,” whose actions may lead to the destruction of hundreds of thousands of hectares of rain forest. “Not only are these areas key habitat for orangutans, but also crucial carbon stores; the destruction of these areas is a major cause of Indonesia’s rocketing carbon emissions,” Greenpeace stated. The organization added that Sinar Mas has already been dropped by Unilever, Kraft, Sainsbury and Shell. A few hours after the video was posted to the Web, Nestlé said in a statement issued from its Swiss headquarters that it had “replaced the Indonesian company Sinar Mas as a supplier of palm oil with another supplier for further shipments,” and insisted that no palm oil from Sinar Mas had been used outside Indonesia. Still, it acknowledged that it could not guarantee that Sinar Mas palm oil wasn’t finding its way into the shipments of other suppliers it used. More…

News selected by Covalence | Country: Global | Company – Ethical Quote link: Nestlé | Source: The Globe and Mail

The protest action highlighted yesterday’s release of a Greenpeace report alleging that Nestlé and the Indonesian industrial giant Sinar Mas, which supplies the food company with palm oil and is also a major pulp-and-paper supplier, are “partners in crime,” whose actions may lead to the destruction of hundreds of thousands of hectares of rain forest. “Not only are these areas key habitat for orangutans, but also crucial carbon stores; the destruction of these areas is a major cause of Indonesia’s rocketing carbon emissions,” Greenpeace stated.

The organization added that Sinar Mas has already been dropped by Unilever, Kraft, Sainsbury and Shell.

A few hours after the video was posted to the Web, Nestlé said in a statement issued from its Swiss headquarters that it had “replaced the Indonesian company Sinar Mas as a supplier of palm oil with another supplier for further shipments,” and insisted that no palm oil from Sinar Mas had been used outside Indonesia. Still, it acknowledged that it could not guarantee that Sinar Mas palm oil wasn’t finding its way into the shipments of other suppliers it used.

Nestlé launches The Cocoa Plan

info — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:48:17 +0000

Nestlé will invest CHF 460 million over the next 10 years to boost its sustainability initiatives in cocoa and coffee. Through its pioneering plant science programme, the Company will supply 38 million high quality, disease-resistant plantlets to farmers helping them rejuvenate their farms and increase productivity. As part of the CHF 460m total boost, Nestlé is announcing the launch of The Cocoa Plan, a new consumer-facing initiative which brings together Nestlé’s activity to promote sustainable cocoa supply under one banner. More…

News selected by Covalence | Country: Global | Company – Ethical Quote link: Nestlé | Source: Nestlé

Nestlé launches major initiatives in nutrition, water and rural development

info — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:06:42 +0000

Nestlé today announced three new company initiatives aimed at creating new partnerships with governments, NGOs and small enterprises. The announcement comes as Nestlé launches a two-day forum on Creating Shared Value in New York in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Partnerships and the Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations. The initiatives include an expanded education programme focused on nutrition, health and wellness for school age children around the world, a research and development centre in Africa, and a new Nestlé Prize in Creating Shared Value, awarded every other year to foster innovative approaches to solve problems of nutrition, water and rural development. These new initiatives in nutrition, water, and rural development come against a backdrop of a deep economic recession, with destruction of value for both shareholders and the public of historic proportions. Image source: creatingsharedvalue.org. > Continue.

News selected by Covalence | Country: Global | Company – Ethical Quote link: Nestlé | Source: Nestlé

Working for Scrooge: 5 Worst Companies for the Right to Associate

info — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 11:43:41 +0000

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that “everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests” (Article 23, Section 4). As human rights advocates around the world celebrate International Human Rights Day, the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) has released “Working for Scrooge: 5 Worst Companies for the Right to Associate” – a list of the five worst multinational corporations for union organizing. The US-based companies on ILRF’s list use intimidation and even violence to violate their workers’ internationally recognized right to organize. Despite the labor rights protections in the UDHR, UN and ILO declarations and national labor laws, workers continue to see their rights trampled on a daily basis. In fact, in its recently released survey of violations of trade union rights, the International Trade Union Confederation reports at least 91 unionists were killed globally as a result of their organizing efforts in 2007. The companies on this year’s list include: Nestlé, Dole, Del Monte, Russell and Wal-Mart. Image: laborrights.org. > Continue.

News selected by Covalence | Country: Global | Company: Nestle, Dole, Del Monte, Russell and Wal-Mart | Source: International Labor Rights Forum

Role of corporate giving grows in Third World projects

info — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:19:52 +0000

Greenwire: Third World water projects are attracting increased attention and cash from corporate charitable efforts. Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo Inc. committed millions for water projects last month at the Clinton Global Initiative’s annual meeting. The company plans to spend $18 million for safe drinking water in the developing world and to raise awareness about global water problems, while PepsiCo is donating more than $7 million for water- and sanitation-project grants. ITT Corp., a high-tech engineering and manufacturing company, recently announced plans to use its technological expertise to provide cleaner water and teach hygiene in developing countries. The White Plains, N.Y.-based company, which has more than 40,000 employees and generated $9 billion in sales last year, is donating $3 million over three years and predicts that its Watermark program will help 100,000 children and their families. Image source. waterfortheworld.net. > Continue.

News selected by Covalence | Region: Global | Company: Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, ITT Corp, Borealis, Borouge, Cadbury, Coca-Cola Co, Suez Environnement, Nestle | Source: Greenbang

The Junk-Food Trap: An International Epidemic

info — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:05:44 +0000

I steadfastly write about one of my major pet peeves: marketing junk food to children who are extraordinarily susceptible to the health-hazardous messages companies download into their brains. It’s not a purely American phenomenon. A new investigation by Consumers International (CI), a global federation of consumer organizations, reveals the extensive lengths to which food and soft-drink companies go when marketing unhealthy products to children in Asia Pacific. The report shows how major international brands like Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, KFC, McDonald’s, PepsiCo and Nestle are using a variety of persuasive techniques to influence preteen and teenage consumers’ food preferences. > Continue

News selected by Covalence | Country: USA | Company: McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, KFC, PepsiCo, Nestle | Source: Organic Authority

Nestlé-Cameroun : Les sachets de Nido accessible à toutes les couches sociales

info — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:37:26 +0000

Leurs prix inférieurs à celui des boites est le principal élément d’attrait. Depuis juin 2008, la société Nestlé a mis sur le marché des emballages contenant du lait de marque Nido. Ces emballages dits “rechargeables”, plus petits au niveau du grammage, pour rendre accessible ce produit aux bourses les plus modestes, et de combattre par la même occasion le phénomène de la cherté de la vie. Même si certains ont gardé l’habitude d’acheter la boîte Nido, généralement les grands modèles qui restent hors de portée du Camerounais moyen, on se rend compte à l’observation que les nouveaux conditionnements sont de plus en plus prisés par les consommateurs. Plusieurs personnes disent appréciés ces emballages parce que “le prix est relativement plus bas. En effet, si l’emballage de 365 grammes est actuellement vendu à 2.000 Fcfa maximum (les prix varient en fonction des surfaces), la boîte Nido d’un poids net de 400 grammes (la plus petite) s’achète à 2.600 Fcfa. Soit une différence de 600 Fcfa. Un différentiel énorme, compte tenu du contexte économique actuel. Si la boîte Nido s’achète toujours à 2.600 Fcfa, le sachet de 365 grammes par exemple, qui coûtait entre 2.000 et 2.200 Fcfa, se vend désormais entre 1.800 et 2.000 Fcfa. Une économie substantielle. > Continue.

Message received by Covalence | Country: Kenya | Company: Nestlé | Source: Le Quotidien Mutations | Correspondent: Barthélémy Kilosho, FULDEP

Unilever to ban “unsustainable” palm oil from its products

info — Fri, 02 May 2008 08:21:45 +0000

Pressure is expected to mount on retailers and food manufacturers selling products containing palm oil from plantations that contribute to rainforest deforestation, after Unilever yesterday announced plans to only use palm oil that has been certified as environmentally sustainable. The multinational giant said it is to work with industry group the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) to begin sourcing palm oil that has been certified as meeting its new sustainability criteria. The company added that it would aim to fully trace the origins of all the palm oil it uses in Europe by 2012 and ensure that it is only sourcing certified palm oil by 2015. Speaking at the Prince of Wales’ May Day Climate Change Summit, Unilever CEO Patrick Cescau said that the company was committed to addressing concerns that booming demand for palm oil for the use in food products and biofuels is contributing to deforestation in countries such as Indonesia where farmers have been found to be illegally clearing rainforest to make way for new plantations. He added that the company had been working with the RSPO since its launch in 2004 and was heavily involved in the development of the criteria that will now be used to certify palm oil plantations as sustainable. He also urged suppliers of palm oil to move to meet the company’s demand for certified palm oil, warning that Unilever would look to apply effective sanctions on those suppliers who persist in unlawful deforestation practices and would be calling for an immediate moratorium on further deforestation for palm oil plantations in Indonesia. The announcement was welcomed by the Prince of Wales, who hailed it as a ” groundbreaking development” and urged other retailers and food companies to follow Unilever’s “principled leadership” on the issue. The move was also praised by Greenpeace, which had been campaigning against Unilever’s palm oil policy and last year released a report directly linking the company to illegal plantations. However, a spokesman for the green group warned the announcement would only prove effective if Unilever is willing to make good on its commitment and lean heavily on its suppliers to “stop trashing Indonesia’s rainforests”. He also urged other large users of palm oil, such as Nestle and Procter & Gamble, to emulate Unilever’s commitment to the new sustainability certification and increase pressure on suppliers to bring a halt to the development of illegal plantations. Image source: businessgreen.com. > Continue.

News selected by Covalence | Country: Indonesia | Company: Unilever, Nestlé, P&G | Source: BusinessGreen