Nestlé Nigeria Plc, the largest Nutrition, health and wellness company in the industry, celebrated the international world water day today. The celebration followed the theme of the 2017 International Water Day – ’Wastewater.
Pupils Participating in one of the WET water management activities
The event which took place at the Agbara factory had in attendance pupils and teachers from schools around the environs who are beneficiaries of Nestlé Waters’ project WET(Water Education for Teachers), a program which trains teachers to help raise awareness about water conservation and proper hydration among school children.
Delivering the keynote address at the occasion, the Nestlé Waters’ Country Manager, Jason Lambe stressed Nestlé’s commitment to pursuing rigorous management standards and watersaving programs throughout its operations and a continuous monitoring of their performance, to ensure that the present-day water challenge is met.
Everyone for Water!
According to UN-Water, waste water is in focus this year because of its huge impact on the environment. Globally, over 80% of the wastewater generated by society flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused. Nestlé recognizes that it can make a significant contribution to addressing this problem, not just in its factories and facilities, but in its supply chains as well. Therefore, as part of the company’s 42 Creating Shared Value commitments, Nestlé in the Central and West Africa region (CWAR) to which Nigeria belongs, acts to treat waste water to a level that it safe to return to the environment.
Speaking on the importance Nestlé attaches to ‘wastewater’ management, the Managing Director for Nigeria, Mauricio Alarcon said that the company recognizes the growing water challenge and that responsible management of the world’s resources by all water users is an absolute necessity.
He reiterated that Nestlé is committed to tackling the global water crisis through increasing water recycling and promoting the safe reuse of waste water. He revealed that this objective was set in line with the Sustainable Development Goals Target 6.3 which requires that by 2030, there should be “improved water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the Press Release proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally.”
An Overview Image of Nestle Agbara Factory
Adegbesan Afolarinwa, Maintenance & Improvement Supervisor, Industrial Services, disclosed some of the measures and techniques put in place to achieve the factory’s objectives of efficient water management. These include waste water treatment.
He said that waste water in the Agbara Factory is treated to remove Chemical and Biological toxic wastes to ensure the water is conducive for Aquatic life survival. The treated waste water is then discharged through the factory’s fish pond to the Municipal Water Treatment facility before being finally released into the environment. In her blog post on the international water day, Marie Françoise Diouf, Safety, Health and Environmental Sustainability Manager for Nestlé says,
“We ensure compliance to meet the strictest regulations, either local or own internal standards. Our factories need water to operate, and providing a reliable supply is an important priority for us. We set strict targets for every wastewater effluent parameter, ensure compliance through audits in all sites each year and identify any gaps and wastewater requirements.
We also take appropriate actions to continuously improve efficiency of our wastewater treatment operations.”
About Nestlé Nigeria: Nestlé Nigeria Plc began simple trading operations in Nigeria in 1961 and has today grown into a leading food manufacturing and marketing company. Nestlé Nigeria is the biggest food company in West Africa. Nestlé Nigeria employs around 2,400 people and has 3 world class factories. Nestlé Nigeria manufactures and markets a range of high quality brands including: NESTLE PURE LIFE, GOLDEN MORN, MILO, KITKAT, MAGGI, NESCAFÉ and NIDO.
