Nestle Nixes Bottling Plant Over Environmental Concerns

September 18, 2009

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Nestle Waters North America has abandoned plans to build a water bottling plant at the site of an old mill property in McCloud, Calif., after a six-year battle with the town over environmental concerns, according to Triple Pundit.

According to Kim Jeffery, CEO, Nestle Waters North America, in a letter to the town, the company is withdrawing its proposal to build a bottling facility in McCloud. The food and beverage company has purchased a site for a new bottling facility in the Sacramento area that will help supply its customers in Northern California, with lower distribution costs and a reduced environmental footprint.

Jeffrey also noted in the statement that the company would provide data produced from new scientific studies on the Squaw Creek watershed upon completion to the town. The company will also consider offers on the property from potential buyers after obtaining an appraisal.

As a result, activists in the Northern California town are claiming victory in its battle to block Nestle’s proposal to build a 1-million square foot facility that would bottle 521 million gallons of water a year, pulled from the town’s watershed, and employee 240 people, according to Triple Pundit.

Nestle later scaled back the size of the plant, revised the scope down to 195 million gallons, and reduced the workforce to 100, but the company had already become a focus of the Think Outside the Bottle campaign of the watchdog group Corporate Accountability International, according to Triple Pundit.

Nestle’s battle is only one example of a widespread publicity issue for bottled water companies over the past year. Faced with declining demand, in part due to public criticism that bottled water is wasteful and harmful to the environment, bottled water companies are reducing the amount of plastic in their packaging, along with lowering prices.

Beverage companies are also ramping up their recycling campaigns. As an example, Coca-Cola has rolled out a new advertising campaign in the U.K. to drive up recycling rates, reports Marketing Magazine.

The ‘Keep it Going. Recycle’ campaign supports Coca-Cola’s investment in a program to create branded ‘Recycle Zones’ across the U.K., reports Marketing Magazine. The campaign was created as a result of research by Coca-Cola in partnership with the Carbon Trust that showed packaging accounts for the largest proportion of a drink’s carbon footprint, according to the magazine.

This campaign supports the company’s efforts to make packaging from more recycled materials and less material overall, reports Marketing Magazine.

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Reader Comments

Wow. Do you guys always run corporate spin and PR as news? Nestle was so “concerned” for the environment that they didn’t even bother to run flow studies prior to signing their first contract (without public input) with the McCloud Services District.

They’re leaving because the bottled water market – especially for premium water brands like Arrowhead – is falling fast, and they can get the water they need in Sacramento and transport it far more cheaply than they can from a tiny town in the mountains of Northern California.

And they’re leaving because a committed group of locals made the project a PR nightmare for the Swiss multinational.

Little that Nestle has done throughout their process in McCloud speaks to environmental concerns; everything they’ve done has focused on the bottom line, and they leave behind a town that’s been bitterly divided by Nestle’s divisive rhetoric.

Nestle’s not leaving over environmental concerns. A declining market? Determined opposition? Yes.

StopNestleWaters.org | September 22nd, 2009

hi,

my name is chris. i drink Nestle water and i believe that it is very nice and the purity is out of this world!! To my understanding Nestle is a very good brand and they definately don’t disturb the environment or harm it in any way.

Chris Steele | November 6th, 2009

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