Nestlé Kenya has commissioned a new Industrial Water Treatment Plant within its factory premises in Industrial Area, Nairobi. The Sh47 million plant is expected to cut Nestlé Kenya’s water use by close to 30 percent and reduce the company’s dependency on Nairobi County Council water.
Nestlé Kenya factory currently requires about 46000 litres of water for its daily operation.
Nestlé Kenya Managing Director, Ms. Ciru Miring’u said, “The new Waste Water Treatment Plant is expected to produce about 13000 litres of treated water daily at full capacity which will be utilized for non-core activities. This will ease the burden of water demand on the city’s resources which has recently been affected by dwindling supplies from the source.”
She, further added, “Nestlé remains committed to treating the water and effluent we discharge from our operations in a responsible manner and to adhering to strict quality standards when discharging it to the environment. It is our hope that the new water treatment plant will bring improvement in this regard.”
Speaking during the commission ceremony, the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Professor Judy Wakhungu said, "I commend Nestlé Kenya for leading the way in industrial water treatment efforts and for including environmental management as part of its business philosophy. I urge other companies to follow the Nestlé example as it will ensure environmental sustainability as stipulated by the Sustainable Development Goals which have Water and Sanitation at their core."
The Cabinet Secretary, further added, "if all companies would embark on waste water treatment and recycling, current water rationing challenges would greatly reduce as the demand for water reduces and also help reduce the cost of the water which is at an all-time high.”
Nestlé Kenya has reduced its water withdrawals levels by 40% ahead of the global levels that are expected to reach 40 percent by 2030.
“Globally Nestlé has strengthened its Environmental Requirements for water quality and effluent discharge, applied by all factories to ensure they go beyond legal compliance across our operations. In 2015, our global office approved a spend of KES 2 billion on improved efficiency, water conservation measures, new and upgraded treatment facilities, and strengthened water quality requirements for effluent treatment installations,” said Ms. Miring’u.
Since 2005, water discharges per ton of products at Nestlé have fallen by 56%. In 2015, it fell by 8.2% and waste water quality improved by 2.3% to 70 mg Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) per litre. For this improvement, in 2015, Nestlé received a ‘Leadership level’ CDP score of A– for best-practice approach to managing water and mitigating water risks.
Nestlé’s effort to conserve water resources are very much in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number six which aims to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.