Nestle achieves zero waste to landfill in the US

Nestle has achieved zero waste to landfill in all of its US factories as part of its ongoing commitment to reducing the environmental impact of its products.


The Swiss multi-national food and beverage firm achieved the feat in the 23 factories producing confections, dairy, frozen and refrigerated meals, ice cream, baking ingredients and drinks by introducing initiatives that include composting, recycling, energy production, and the provision of safe products for animal feed.

All of Nestlé USA’s factories employ ISO 14001 certified environmental management systems to help manage their environmental impact, including waste elimination, such as robust recycling programs and partnerships with waste vendors who share Nestle’s sustainable vision.

Shared value

Today’s announcement pushes Nestlé further past its waste target for 2015 which it achieved two years early in 2013.

Nestlé set itself the goal in 2012 to achieve zero waste to landfill in 10% of its factories by 2015. In 2014 it announced it had accomplished the feat in 15% of its global factories, 72 in total.

“Environmental sustainability is part of Nestlé’s commitment to creating shared value in society,” Nestle USA CEO and chairman Paul Grimwood said. “Our goal is for our products to not only be tastier and healthier, but also better for the environment.”

“We are incredibly proud of the effort it took to accomplish this goal. This is an especially noteworthy achievement given the breadth and complexity of our manufacturing operations across a variety of categories.”

“We are committed to working with our employees to ensure our factories remain landfill-free and are striving for new ways to reduce our environmental impact at each stage of the product lifecycle.”

Last month, Nestlé released its Creating Shared Value Report 2014 revealing it had hit several key sustainability targets early, including reducing its direct greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of product.

World first

Nestle is the second global consumer goods company to announce a zero waste to landfill achievement this year.

In January Unilever was the first company of its size to achieve zero waste to landfill across its entire global factory network of 240 factories in 67 countries, saving more than €200m in waste costs.

Lucinda Dann

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