March 4, 2008 - Food giant Nestle has released a sweeping new report on its worldwide sustainability activities, calling corporate responsibility "not philanthropy or an add-on, but a fundamental part of our business strategy." The first-annual report, called "Creating Shared Value," will supplement the company's yearly management report.

"'Creating Shared Value' means thinking long term while at the same time delivering strong annual results," Nestle CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe said in a statement. "One of the fundamental Nestle Corporate Business Principles is that we will not sacrifice long-term development for short-term gain. This enables us to deliver the Nestle model – 5%-6% organic growth together with an EBIT margin improvement in constant currencies – year after year, while at the same time improving our environmental and social performance."

According to the report, Nestle:

• has reduced its direct greenhouse gas emissions by 16% compared to ten years ago, and its overall water withdrawal by 28%, while at the same time increasing the total volume of goods produced by 76%
  
• is developing new production facilities in Brazil, Pakistan and China, bringing processing activities closer to the places where raw materials are sourced
• has reduced water bottle packaging weight 22% since 2002
  
• is providing "free technical assistance and training" to more than 600,000 farmers in developing nations, particularly those involved in dairy, coffee, and cocoa production

The independently verified report includes the first publicly released data from GLOBE, Nestle's worldwide management information system. Nestle says it is committed to providing "progressively more quantitative information about its activities in local communities" over the coming years.

Download the report here (PDF).