Within a month after getting a foreign-corporate citizen award, Nestle Canada is dealing with a sharp reminder that not everything the Switzerland-based food and beverage giant does under the maple-leaf flag is so appreciated.
A watchdog group called SumOfUs.org hasdemanded that Nestle cut back on water pumping to feed its Nestle Waters plant in Aberfoyle, Ontario, while the province continues to suffer drought conditions. The group claimed that more than 140,000 consumers in Canada and around the world demanded in an online petition that Nestle discontinue bottling about 1.1 million gallons a day from nearby Hillsburgh, Ontario.
While drought-imposed rules for household water usage remain in place in the area, SumOfUs.org alleged in a statement, "Nestle's appetite to commodify water" is a "recurring strategy by a corporation with a pattern of seeking to privatize and profit from ... our natural resources."
Nestle Canada executives weren't available for comment to brandchannel.
But Corporate Knights Inc. might come to Nestle Canada's defense. The self-described media, research and financial products company that focuses on "clean capitalism" recently namedNestle Canada one of the nation's Top Foreign Corporate Citizens. The designation is for companies with substantial operations in Canada that are "leading the way" in corporate citizenship, according to Corporate Knights, and are headquartered outside Canada.
Nestle Canada CEO Shelley Martin was only too happy to address what Corporate Knights had to say about the company. "In order to create long-term value for shareholders, we also have to create value for society," Martin said in a release. "We work hard to ensure that our activities preserve the environment for future generations."
In another bit of irony, Nestle Canada recently issued a press note about its concerns about a "difficult and challenging time" in Southern Alberta and said that it is working with the Red Cross there on relief efforts. The problem in Alberta? Floods.
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