Nestlé to reduce water usage by 40 per cent

Nestlé reduced the water used in its European operations by 36 per cent from 2004 ¬– 2010. “While water scarcity tends to be an issue that is more related to the South, it is highly relevant in Europe as well,” said Nestlé Executive Vice President Europe, Laurent Freixe. Demand for water continues to rise, with water scarcity affecting one in 10 people living in the European zone, according to the European Commission. Nestlé has committed to reducing its water consumption by 40 per cent by 2020. “We will meet these targets by combining training, changing behaviour, quick wins and knock-on investments,” Freixe added. Following on from a $1, 383, 298 investment, Nestlé’s La Penilla factory, Spain, has managed to reduce its water used in production by almost two thirds in less than 12 months. The UK’s Girvan factory aims to recycle 0.5 million litres of its daily water, which is extracted from milk and used to make chocolate.  Since 2009, the factory has already saved 40 per cent of its water and, by 2014, intends to reduce water usage by 84 per cent. Nestlé has already reduced overall water by one-third since 2005 and has pledged to achieve a 40 per cent reduction by the end of 2015.