Friday 29 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 27, 2021 - January 2, 2022

Operating commercially in Malaysia since 1912, Nestlé (M) Bhd — with its philosophy of “Good Food, Good Life” — is highly conscious of its responsibility to nourish individuals and families by providing high quality, accessible and affordable nutrition, while ensuring that the communities around it prosper and respect the planet for future generations.  The leading food and beverage (F&B) manufacturer, was a winner in the Best CR Initiatives, Super Big Cap RM10 billion to RM 40 billion market capitalisation in The Edge Billion Ringgit Club. 

In 2020, through its Creating Shared Value (CSV) approach,  Nestlé saw a greater need to focus on driving sustainability for the long term, remaining single-minded in unlocking the power of food to deliver meaningful progress to everyone, while helping those whose lives were adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to its 2020 annual report, Nestlé pledged to contribute RM15 million to Covid-19 relief efforts to help alleviate the socio­economic impact of the pandemic on vulnerable Malaysians. This included partnering with the Malaysian Red Crescent Society and other organisations to donate food and other necessities to frontliners and people in need, apart from spearheading a wide range of programmes to uplift the B40 group and lower-income communities, as well as local F&B operators.

To support local F&B operators that were hard hit by the movement restrictions, Nestlé channelled RM5 million to trade assistance programmes and cash contributions. These efforts were complemented by its iconic brands such as Maggi, Milo and Kit Kat, which rallied together to help Malaysians, investing more than RM6.7 million to support their livelihoods.

These initiatives included Maggi’s first-ever mentorship programme to empower Malaysian women from all walks of life with business, digital and cooking capabilities and knowledge as it trained 900 participants via a series of digital workshops; and 10,000 packs of Milo kosong products to help nourish B40 families.

While supporting the community, the company also invested more than RM60 million to safeguard its people and protect their jobs and incomes, while putting in place measures in line with strict government guidelines to ensure supply continuity of its products in its role as an essential F&B provider.

On the sustainability front, Nestlé remained dedicated to reducing plastic waste as part of its pledge to make its packaging fully recyclable or reusable by 2025 through innovative packaging solutions. It made tangible progress in this with the successful implementation of 100% paper straws across its entire UHT range, which can eliminate more than 200 million plastic straws per year.

It also continued to support sustainable food systems via rural development initiatives and contract farming schemes (Nestlé Paddy Club, Nestlé Chilli Club and Nescafé Grown Respectfully), all aimed at elevating the quality of life of local farmers while securing a stable supply of responsibly sourced raw ingredients.

The Nescafé Grown Respectfully programme marked a new milestone in 2020 by producing Nestlé’s first-ever 100% Malaysian home-grown coffee, Nescafé Classic Kopi Kedah, which the company believes will lay the foundation for revitalising coffee growing in the country.

At the same time, it achieved its target of planting one million trees along Sabah’s Kinabatangan River via the Kinabatangan RiLeaf Project. It has now embarked on a more ambitious target to plant three million trees in Malaysia by 2023 through Project RELeaf, which will contribute to its commitment to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

“We believe that a sustainable business will drive long-term growth. As we weather the challenges of the pandemic, our commitment to sustainability remains unchanged. We will continue to deliver on our environmental and societal commitments and lead the way in shaping a more sustainable future for future generations,” said Nestlé chairman Tan Sri Syed Anwar Jamalullail.

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