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Giving Back to Communities

Nestlé Waters is committed to supporting the communities where we live and work. In 2007, we contributed more than $2.7 million in cash, product donations and employee volunteerism. We focus our giving on four areas that are core to our business and are also important to our consumAers and communities as well as support employee volunteerism.

Environment: As natural resource company, we are committed to supporting environmental stewardship. Some of these include financial and volunteer support of water education programs, as well as conservation grants to protect watersheds and natural systems in states where we have operations.

Project WET

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Health and wellness: In addition to drinking water, physical activity is key to a healthy lifestyle. To this end, we developed Go-Play! , a program dedicated to supporting fitness programs in schools across the country.

Emergency relief: Bottled water is critical in the event of an emergency. Through our partners, the American Red Cross and AmeriCares we distribute water and financial aid to communities in times of need. Between 2005 and 2007, we donated over four million bottles of water to disaster relief. The combination of bottled water donations and financial contributions to provide emergency relief was worth approximately $1.8 million over this three-year time period.

Supporting local community needs: Because local needs vary greatly, we empower each manufacturing plant to support worthy causes within its area of operations. For example, the Every Drop Counts Scholarship Fund, established by our Ozarka® Brand in 2002, helps students interested in careers in environmental and earth sciences. The scholarship provides two $10,000 statewide scholarships for high school seniors and college students, and four $2,500 scholarships to students in each of Ozarka Brand’s four spring site locations. Similarly, in 2001, our Ice Mountain® Brand established the Ice Mountain Environmental Stewardship Fund, which provides financial support for projects aimed at promoting conservation, enhancement and restoration efforts of the Muskegon River watershed. Since its inception, the fund has granted more than $270,000 to 15 local organizations.

Employee Volunteerism: Nestlé Waters encourages employees to volunteer through Project WET, United Way and local initiatives, such as the Northeast Texas Child Advocacy Center Golf Tournament fundraiser. However, we have a relatively undeveloped volunteer strategy and are committed to expanding employee engagement in our local communities in future years.

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Nestlé Waters’ partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), a global conservation organization, started in the mid-90s, when Poland Spring helped TNC protect ecologically important lands and waters in Maine. In 1999, Nestlé Waters contributed $1 million to TNC to protect St. John River, the last wild, free-flowing major river in the eastern U.S. In 2005, Nestlé Waters and TNC initiated a second collaboration to protect freshwater rivers, lakes and wetlands across the country. We pledged $1 million over five years to assist with watershed restoration projects and to support the development of a water certification program to promote sustainable water use. Through the 10-year collaboration with TNC, Nestlé Waters has helped protect and restore over 426,000 acres of natural lands and waters.