Environment

Multi-Level Water Resources Strategy Urged

Jan 18, 2017 5:30 PM ET
Campaign: Nestlé in the U.S.: Healthy Planet

Our Water Mandate: Facts and solutions to the growing freshwater crisis – Part…

STAMFORD, Conn., January 18, 2017 /3BL Media/ – While acknowledging progress in efforts to better manage our nation’s water resources, there is still much to be done in the area of combining private and public forces for the good of all, according to Nelson Switzer, Chief Sustainability Officer for Nestlé Waters North America.

“We must learn to collaborate, not compete,” said Switzer in “Our Water Mandate - Facts and Solutions to the Growing Freshwater Crisis,” published today. “There is no reason not to accept the mandate to work together, make the right decisions and invest in our water future. …Water risk is real and multidimensional,” he added.  

The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks 2016 Report ranked the water crisis third in the list of most impactful global risks in the years to come.  The only risks ranked higher were; climate change mitigation and adaptation, and weapons of mass destruction. The problems to which continued disregard for water management can lead are dire, from rapid and massive spread of infectious disease, extreme weather events, and interstate conflict, according to the report.

Some facts cited by Switzer underscore the urgency of the challenge:

  1. Only three percent of the earth’s water is freshwater, and less than 1.5 percent of that is readily available to fuel our environment, communities and industry; 
  2. With that small portion, we must provide for the human right to water, which is defined by the CEO Global Water Mandate as follows: water should be available to every person at the right quantity (50-100 liters per person per day);
  3. Many developed countries use much more. In the U.S., the average person uses 550 liters of water daily;
  4. Beyond those figures, 70 percent of available freshwater is used by agriculture and other essential industries are also significant users of water.

“We know about water scarcity and its risks. There is no reason not to accept the mandate to work together, make the right decisions and invest in our water future. To do otherwise will lead to a world where water is unfishable, undrinkable and unswimmable. While that might seem unthinkable, we must act now to avoid these consequences," said Switzer.

About Nestlé Waters North America
Nestlé Waters North America provides people with an unrivaled portfolio of bottled waters for healthy hydration. Brands such as Poland Spring®, Nestlé® Pure Life®, Perrier®, and S. Pellegrino® have driven Nestlé Waters North America to be the third largest non-alcoholic beverage company by volume in the U.S. Based in Stamford, Connecticut with some 8,500 employees, Nestlé Waters is committed to reducing its environmental footprint across operations. As a natural resource company, Nestlé Waters sustainably manages our 47 spring sources and maintains nearly 14,000 acres of natural watershed area. The company is also committed to creating shared value and being a good neighbor in the 140 communities where it operates in the U.S.