Taking a holistic approach to water management

Climate change, population growth and land use changes are all putting accessibility to clean, safe water under pressure.

Healthy water ecosystems are essential for sustaining biodiversity and ensuring access to clean water for drinking and sanitation. Yet, in many parts of the world, human and ecological demands for fresh water remain unmet, with over two billion people lacking adequate supplies for health, hygiene and crop cultivation.

We depend on water throughout our operations and agricultural supply chains, and recognize our role in helping to protect water resources. We are improving water efficiency in our factories, helping farmers to introduce better water practices and increasing access to safe water and sanitation in communities near our operations and sourcing origins.

Through its local water stewardship projects, Nestlé Waters & Premium Beverages aims to deliver more volumetric water benefits (VWBs) than the volume of water withdrawn for its operations.
 

Learn more in the Environmental Disclosures section of our 2025 Non-Financial Statement (pdf, 18Mb).
 

Our approach to water management across Nestlé

Water management initiatives, which include water savings goals, compliance processes with environmental regulations, and implementing best practices in water management across all operations, are key components of Nestlé's sustainability strategy. The Nestlé CEO, together with the company's Executive Board, are responsible for the definition and execution of such strategy.

Water stress is an issue in many parts of the world, with impacts felt locally by the communities and farmers who grow the ingredients we use in our products. Our approach to water stewardship considers local sources to wider catchments. We seek compliance as a minimum, implementing best practices in water resources management and then collective action in our sourcing landscapes.

The Alliance for Water Stewardship defines water stewardship as the use of water that is socially and culturally equitable, environmentally sustainable and economically beneficial, achieved through a stakeholder-inclusive process that includes both site- and catchment-based actions.

At Nestlé, this means taking a holistic approach to water use across our operations, supply chains, and communities, including:

• Managing water resources in and around our sites, with actions tailored to local watershed needs and risks.
• Ensuring the right to water, including access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) for workers and communities surrounding our factories.
• Supporting environmental outcomes by improving water quality, regenerating local water cycles, and enhancing biodiversity.
• Delivering transparent, third-party verified results through rigorous certification (eg AWS), public reporting, and independent performance measurement for water positive projects (such as the Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting methodology).
• Engaging in collective action with stakeholders, including local communities, farmers, NGOs, and public authorities, to address shared water challenges and drive systemic change.

We follow a holistic approach to managing water resources in and around our operations. We aim to protect, restore and renew water resources where possible - and align our water practices to the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS). 

Expanding efforts beyond our own operations

Climate change, higher water consumption, growing urbanization and damaged infrastructure are some of the factors contributing to the deterioration of natural water resources. These trends are interfering with the predictability of precipitation and the availability of clean water. Additionally, rising temperatures and more extreme weather patterns are causing more flooding and droughts.

We recognize water resources are part of a wider, shared and interdependent system. That's why we collaborate on work beyond our own operations to protect water resources, and their ability to support the natural environment, communities and the economy.

CEO Water Mandate

We are a member of the CEO Water Mandate, a UN Global Compact initiative that unites business leaders on water, sanitation and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Working with the Alliance for Water Stewardship

Nestlé is a founding member of the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS). Our representatives sit on the AWS Board. They have also contributed to the work of the AWS Technical Committee and to specific Working Groups (on agriculture for instance).

Landscape Enterprise Networks (LENs) in the UK

In 2022, we began a landscape project in East Anglia, UK, as part of Landscape Enterprise Networks (LENs). This initiative aims to have a positive impact on water quality through planting cover crops and other regenerative agriculture activities at a landscape level.
 

Other water partnerships and advocacy

We work with water users and partners to advance water management, through a mix of nature-based and technical solutions. We are members of:

• The World Bank Group's 2030 Water Resources Group
• The CEO Water Mandate, a UN Global Compact initiative
• The WASH4Work initiative
• The Alliance for Water Stewardship  

Nestlé is part of a global working group, convened by the World Resources Institute, to update the Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting method, which enables the assessment of benefits brought by water stewardship initiatives.

Building on the foundations already in place

Our agronomists and suppliers continue to train farmers throughout our supply chains on regenerative agriculture practices that support efficient water management, for example implementing irrigation technologies, precision farming and organic fertilizers, among others.

We are also taking action where we have identified watershed preservation activities that we can take together with farmers and local stakeholders. These largely target watersheds where our supply chain is exposed to higher water risks and are aimed at both reducing farmers' water use and increasing water availability.