Nestle Corporation and Their False Claims for Social Change

Nestle’s social claims are “We strive to reduce the environmental impact of our packaging while ensuring our packaging protects our products effectively “. And Nestle’s environmental claims say that “We focus on making the most of our vehicle trips, reducing empty transport journeys and constantly reviewing our distribution networks, including improving route planning for our own vehicles. “Switching our preferred mode of transport from road-based to rail and sea, and increasing our use of alternative fuels, can help us lower our environmental impact”. According to the evidence, nestle is not living up to these claims.

Firstly, from the information provided by nestle and the information gathered from the various sources, there are many contradictions that can be found. Nestle say that they strive to reduce the environmental impact of packaging. However according to the one of the sources it’s not true. For example, in one of the article it says that nestle coffee aluminum pods create unnecessary waste which is a valuable energy resource that winds up in landfills. It also says the company Nescafe has a big list of commitment for corporate sustainability but it falls short of committing to all of them. Nespresso recycling efforts are also failing because most of the aluminum pods ends up in landfills. On the other hand, Nespresso has reinvested its earning into its supply chain, especially in South Sudan, with the help of the anti-poverty NGO Techno Serve. Nestle is working to limit the impact of its capsules.

Secondly, Nestle was accused of violations of fundamental labor and human rights in its supply chain. Moreover, cases of child labor were detected by the Danish organization DanWatch. According to Danwatch, in the Brazilian coffee industry there are cases related to slavery with people being forced to work for little or no pay. More than hundreds of workers are rescued from slavery-like conditions every year. Brazilian authorities have rescued several hundred coffee workers from plantations over the years. In July, 128 people including six children teenagers release from plantations in Minas Gerais, which is Brazil largest coffee-growing state. Moreover, about one-third of the global coffee consumed is from Brazil making the most important coffee exporter in the world. The companies are not able to rule out cases of forced labour in their supply chain. In which case consumers cannot be sure that they are not supporting forced labour through their purchase of coffee products including; Nescafé, Nespresso, Dolce Gusto, Coffee-mate and Senseo.

Lastly, Nestle claims that “We focus our efforts on reducing water use across our operations, using sustainably managed and renewable resources and working towards our goal of zero waste. However, according to the sources the company’s information is misleading. The pods of coffee create lots of waste that produce waste pollution. The coffee pods are not biodegradable, and it takes hundred years for aluminum and plastic capsules to breaks down in landfills. Moreover, transportation is a major environmental impact. The company transports more than 145000 tonnes of coffee by trucks, cars, trains and boats everyday which creates air pollution and it can be a big threat to the people and the environment.

In conclusion, Nestle is not living up to its social and environmental claims according to the information gathered by various sources. Firstly, the aluminum pods create lots of unnecessary waste which winds up in windmills that creates land pollution. Secondly, the cases of child labor and slavery are extremely high. And lastly, transportation of the product by cars, trucks, rail and sea create lots of air pollution.