Being a good neighbor

There are 10 tenets to the Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA) Good Neighbor Policy, which reflect our commitment to the communities in which we work and live, and the environments that support us. Below are highlights.

 

Open Communication

Project Websites: Beyond participating in town meetings, communicating with officials and neighbors, NWNA also activates a community website for ongoing communication.

This ensures that a new community receives information about our company and the project within the community.

 

Sustainable Land Use

Preserving Open Space: NWNA typically leases or purchases large tracts of land around our spring sources and leaves most of the land undeveloped, providing watershed protection, as well as good habitat for local plant and animal life. To date, NWNA has more than 14,000 acres around its spring sources, as natural lands and open space.

The Nature Conservancy: Since 1999, Nestlé Waters North America has supported the visionary work of The Nature Conservancy in directly protecting 426,000 acres of land and water across the U.S.

Exemplary Employee Practices

Employment Opportunities: NWNA has plant operations in 21 communities across the U.S. Nestlé Waters Canada has 2 in Canada. Together, the companies employ 9,000 people (3,400 work in our plants) with a total payroll of $561 million. Many of our bottling operations are in rural areas, where naturally protected spring water sources are located.

These communities generally welcome a clean industry that offers employment opportunities for their members, in addition to business for local vendors, contractors and suppliers. NWNA’s manufacturing jobs pay in the top half of comparable jobs and come with health-care insurance and 401K benefits.

Economic Benefits: The company invests in the community in which it does business in many ways. In the last 5 years, NWNA has invested $1.7 billion dollars in capital. Our operations had the following 2007 tax benefits: property taxes, $21 million; state sales taxes, $21 million; state income taxes, $27 million; and federal income taxes, $132 million.

 

Water Education

Project WET: Providing training and materials, and connecting educators worldwide, this program reaches children, teachers and communities with water resource education, including water conservation, watershed protection, health, hydration and sanitation.

Crystal Springs Preserve: In November 2004, Crystal Springs – a source for Zephyrhills spring water – completed its transformation to worldclass environmental education center.

Giving Back

Supporting Local Causes: In addition to economic benefits, NWNA strives to be a good neighbor within plant and spring communities by supporting local causes, such as school and scholarship programs, watershed protection and open space preservation.

High School Baseball Field Complex: As part of NWNA’s Good Neighbor Policy, Ice Mountain brand sponsored construction of a baseball field complex for Evart (Michigan) High School, as part of the “Evart Vision.” The ceremonial first pitch will be thrown in spring of 2008. Evart Public Schools Superintendent watched with other local VIPs as Evart teammates broke ground.

 

 

- Promoting health and hydration

- Responding to disasters

- Managing water resources for long-term sustainability

- Supporting sustainable packaging

- Reducing our supply chain footprint

Printable version of NWNA Corporate Citizenship Vision and Commitment.