Nestlé tops leading sustainability indices

Nestlé is the leading food products company in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the first time with a score of 88%, double the industry average.

The company has also achieved the maximum score for the second year running in the CDP ‘Climate Disclosure Leadership Index’ and the CDP ‘Climate Performance Leadership Index’, both of which are published in the Global 500 Climate Change Report 2013.

Nestlé’s leading positions in all three indices recognise its strong performance against a number of benchmarks that measure the environmental and the social impact of its operations and the transparency of its information disclosure.

Strong policies

Nestlé’s strong policies and transparent reporting in the area of environmental sustainability – including its climate change mitigation activities, water management practices and raw material sourcing – led it to achieving 97% in the ‘environment dimension’ of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, the best score in the industry.

The Dow Jones Sustainability Index is based on an analysis of companies’ economic, environmental and social performance, including areas such as corporate governance, climate strategy, supply chain standards and labour practices.

Halve emissions

Initiatives such as switching from long-distance road transportation to rail or short-sea shipping in Europe, opting for wind power to supply energy to its factories in Mexico, and installing wood-fired boilers at factories in France, have all helped Nestlé to maintain its position in the CDP rankings for the second year running.

The CDP indices measure the performance of the top 500 companies in the FTSE Global Equity Index in terms of their efforts to cut carbon emissions, as well as the transparency of the information they disclose.

Since 2002 Nestlé has managed to halve the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its factories per tonne of product, by continuing to improve energy efficiency, switching to cleaner fuels and investing in renewable sources.

Earlier this year the company announced its commitment to reducing direct GHG emissions per tonne of product by more than a third again by 2015, compared to 2005 levels.