Nestlé says all 150 of its European factories will be zero waste by 2020, a commitment that will prevent the food products company from burning or throwing anything in the landfill unless energy can be recovered from the process.
Nestlé made its pledge at a European Policy Centre event on food sustainability in Brussels.
The company achieved its first zero waste facility — its KitKat and Aero confectionery factory in UK city York — in 2011. By the end of 2012, Nestlé had achieved zero waste status in 39 of its 468 factories worldwide.
The food products company has turned 25 of its European factories into zero-waste facilities. All of its factories in UK and Switzerland are zero waste, the company says.
The company says it’s looking for ways to eliminate waste at every level of its operations.
In May, Nestlé and 44 other UK retailers, manufacturers and brands, committed to reducing food and drink waste by 1.1 million metric tons by 2015 in the third phase of the Courtauld Commitment.
The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) oversees the voluntary pledge to cut packaging, food and beverage waste. Its signatories also include all major UK grocery chains — Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Aldi and The Co-operative Food, among others.
Nestlé’s zero waste commitment has pushed it to the top of several sustainability and corporate responsibility rankings. Nestlé is No. 10 on an October 2013 ranking of companies with the best corporate social responsibility reputation.
The study by corporate reputation management consultancy Reputation Institute named Microsoft as the top company on the list in a four-way tie with Walt Disney Company, Google and BMW.