Nestlé pursues certification
Its water savings measures have been commended and Nestlé Mossel Bay is intent on saving water and has announced its intention to pursue a Water Stewardship Certification for its local milk products factory.
A third party auditor, SGS, was selected to carry out the on-site assessment from 28 October to 31 October.
The assessor, Mia-Antoni Naidoo, met with stakeholders, including the municipality, suppliers such as farmers, community organisations and the media on Tuesday, 29 October to obtain feedback on how Nestlé has optimised the opportunities during the dire water scarcity in the region.
The feedback was positive and factory manager Khoa Huynh ascribed much of the success to the work ethic that Nestlé embraces.
“We subscribe to the Mossel Bay Way of Working, abbreviated as Mossel Bay WOW. This means that we work as one team, aligned to best practices which include saving water and investing in our communities,” Huynh stressed. He is enthusiastic about the Mossel Bay WOW work ethos and hopes that other industries and companies will embrace the concept.
The Nestlé factory in Mossel Bay manufactures powdered milk, sweetened condensed milk and desert cream products.
The factory uses water supplied directly from the Mossel Bay Municipality. The site purifies and reuses water that is recovered from the milk during the evaporation process used to manufacture products.
Water stewardship initiatives look at risks and opportunities that emerge from water scarcity and support identifying the actions needed to ensure water is managed in a sustainable manner and as a shared resource.
Mossel Bay councillor, Alderman Cliffie Bayman and Councillor Anton Dellemijn met representatives of Nestlé, among others, the group manager: agricultural services Hoven Meyer, engineering manager Kobus Jooste and the Safety, Health and Environment practitioner Risuna Ntshani.
Alderman Bayman said that Mossel Bay, as a drought-ravished area, welcomed all initiatives taken by businesses in the greater Mossel Bay area to save water.
Councillor Dellemijn commended Nestlé as one of the major players in organised business for its initiative to embrace the water stewardship certification.
"The environment and the water we derive from it is a natural resource that attracts both investors and tourists to our area.
"While Mossel Bay can guarantee water security through the desalination plant of the municipality, all attempts to safeguard nature and to save water, especially at this time is most appreciated and commendable."