Nestle Champions Water Preservation
In furtherance of her commitment towards promoting healthy hydration and water conservation in Nigeria, Nestle Waters Plc has urged Nigerians to actively engage in the conservation and preservation of freshwater to sustain water supply.
The call was made by the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the organisation, Mr. Marco Settembri and its Regional Manager for Africa, Guy Bani, during the organisation’s celebration of 2015 World Water Day event held in Agbara, Ogun State recently.
The CEO’s message which was shared with all participants at the commemoration of the day, emphasised on the importance of freshwater, the need for a sustainable management of freshwater resources, as well as the importance of conserving freshwater.
He tasked participants on the use of quality and clean water.
The event brought together 100 pupils from different schools in Kosofe and Alimosho Local Government Areas in Lagos, as well as delegates from the Lagos State Ministry of Education.
Bani educated the children and other participants on the importance of healthy hydration and water conservation, while also stressing on the organisation’s approach to a better Nigeria through provision of clean water.
According to him, “2015 is the sixth consecutive year that the organisation is celebrating World Water Day on a global scale; 34 countries, over 9,000 children and around 700 employees are involved behind this common motto: Together for Water!”
He said water was a fundamental component of Nestle’s creating shared value focus area apart from nutrition and rural development.
“Nestle Water Plc has taken it upon itself to continuously campaign for good water because it is the organisation’s fundamental belief that for a company to be successful over a long term and create value for shareholders, it must also create value for society, hence the need to give back to the society through the medium.
“Nestle Waters is committed to working to achieve water efficiency across its operations, advocate for effective water policies and stewardship, treat the water it discharges from its factories, engages with suppliers, as well as raise awareness,” he explained.
The participants were taken on a factory tour to experience the production processes of table water at the Nestle plant, while the participating schools joined other 80 schools that the organization has adopted to promote water stewardship.
The activities involved five interactive games chosen from the Water Education for Teachers (WET) module; which includes Life Box, Aqua Bodies, Go with the Flow, Blue Planet and 8-4-1. This was then followed by an interactive questions and answers segment with Star Bright Consulting, a nongovernmental organisation that partnered NESTLE for the implementation of project WET in Nigeria.
Bani further advised that the water conservation habits and lessons imbibed by the pupils should be put into full practice at all times in order to preserve water for the future.
World Water Day is an annual event celebrated on March 22 which focuses attention on the importance of freshwater and need to encourage use of clean and potable water.
The day was first formally proposed in Agenda 21 of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro.