FURTHER TO the recent announcement that Nestlé has been ranked as the leading food company world-wide in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, the company has scooped the Best Large Company Initiative Award at the Scottish Green Awards 2013 for the work it has done at its Girvan factory in South Ayrshire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Award recognised the efforts of Nestlé – past, present and planned for the future – towards a low carbon factory with reduced environmental impact.  This includes the reduction of water wastage (using reverse osmosis), creating an educational biodiversity site, reducing energy consumption, halving CO2 output, becoming zero waste to landfill and engaging local school children in activities.

 

The Awards are designed to reward the achievements of those who have shown outstanding initiative in the reduction of their environmental footprint, improved their sustainability policies and can evidence the positive impact in the communities where they are situated.

 

The Girvan site employs individuals from the communities in South Ayrshire and the locality and produces chocolate crumb, which then goes to make milk chocolate.

 

Neil Stephens, Managing Director of Nestlé Professional said that the Award is great recognition of the work that has been done in Girvan, which marks a positive step in a much longer journey: “As a business, we are fully cognisant of the fact that there is always room for further advancement, and our commitment to further improve the environmental footprint at Girvan remains as strong as ever.

 

“The same can be said of our commitment to providing cleaner energy and switching to renewable sources for our operations as a whole.  This, alongside a determination to reduce waste and packaging, is a key focus for our business.

 

“We are pleased to have halved emissions since 2002, which has included switching some long-distance road transportation to rail.  And, we are continually embracing new technologies across our operations that help to drive and benefit our environmental policies.

 

“We are passionate that sustainability is a shared responsibility across the hospitality industry, of which manufacturing and logistics are vital components.  Collectively, we have made significant strides in the last few years and I would urge everyone to continue to innovate and drive change in this critical area”.

 

Nestlé Professional has developed two online courses to help operators become more sustainable.  A Waste Management course, developed in association with SWR, and Water Management course, developed in association with the Food & Drink Federation, can be accessed via the Nestlé Professional website