Nestle delivery service earns carbon- neutral certification
STAMFORD — Nestle Waters North America, whose products include Poland Spring water, has reached a milestone in its efforts to reduce its environmental impact.
The Stamford- based company has announced that its national ReadyRefresh by Nestle beverage- delivery service has gained for 2020 the “CarbonNeutral” company certification, a global standard for carbon- neutral programs. The recognition reflects the sustainability progress of a business that makes approximately 14 million deliveries each year, although environmentalists still have concerns about bottled beverages’ ecological effects.
“We’ve been asking ourselves how can we do the best possible for the communities that we serve, and operating sustainably is therefore a key objective for ReadyRefresh as we continue to grow our business,” said Henrik Jelert, executive vice president of ReadyRefresh. “Being a sustainable home- and- business delivery business is important not just to us, but to our customers, our associates and the planet.”
Among related initiatives, ReadyRefresh said it is on track this year to convert 50 percent of its fleet from diesel to propane and that it has started to add electric vehicles that are involved in the “last mile” final stages of deliveries.
During the next few years, as much as 80 percent of ReadyRefresh’s fleet could use
alternative fuel sources including propane and electricity.
At the same time, the service has streamlined its routing to reduce customer- delivery miles by 600,000 in 2019. The company declined to say how many miles the ReadyRefresh fleet drove last year.
Meanwhile, ReadyRefresh said that it is saving approximately 100 tons of carbon each month through shipping by train — instead of truck — its water dispensers across the country to be cleaned and prepared for re- use.
In Texas, the electricity at all but one ReadyRefresh distribution branch comes entirely from renewable sources. ReadyRefresh is also looking into expanding its renewable- energy use at its 11 branches in Florida and Pennsylvania.
The business runs approximately 70 branches across the country, including one in North Haven.
Customers are not paying extra to accommodate the green initiatives, according to the company.
Achieving carbon neutrality does not necessarily mean that a business no longer produces carbon emissions. But, as ReadyRefresh did, an enterprise can gain carbon- neutral status by purchasing carbon “offsets” through other projects that reduce emissions.
Among its offsetting projects, ReadyRefresh purchased credits from the Hudson Farm Improved Forest Management Project in New Jersey and partnered in New York with the Seneca Meadows Landfill Gas project.
Nestle Waters declined to specify how much it spent on the carbon offsets.
Natural Capital Partners, the organization that runs the “CarbonNeutral” certification, declined to provide a full list of companies that have gained the designation. But it said other qualifying companies and brands include Bain & Co., Logitech, Microsoft Xbox, Sky, GE Renewable Energy, Bolt, VMware and Synopsys.
“I would describe the importance of Ready Refresh gaining ‘ CarbonNeutral’ certification as another excellent example of how businesses are stepping up action on climate change to meet the interests of their consumers and reduce emissions immediately,” said Natural Capital Partners Chief Marketing Officer Rebecca Fay.
Officials at the Connecticut Fund for the Environment/ Save the Sound said that they were glad that ReadyRefresh was reducing its carbon output and that they support related certifications and labeling that are backed by “robust standards.”
“That said, there’s really no way to make bottling water and shipping it environmentally friendly,” said CFE/ STS spokeswoman Laura McMillan. “The process is inherently energyintensive, generates huge plastic waste and often interferes with existing uses at the water source site. Except in rare cases where the local water supply is actually unsafe, the environmental choice is still drinking from the tap and using reusable bottles.”
That said, there’s really no way to make bottling water and shipping it environmentally friendly. The process is inherently energyintensive, generates huge plastic waste, and often interferes with existing uses at the water source site. Except in rare cases where the local water supply is actually unsafe, the environmental choice is still drinking from the tap and using reusable bottles.”
Nestle Waters North America, as a whole, has not made a specific carbon- neutral commitment. But company officials said initiatives like ReadyRefresh’s are instructive for the entire organization.
“It’s a corporation obviously, but it was very much a grassroots movement to say ‘ How many things can we do differently?’” Jelert said. “Over time, they started to get big enough to register. This is real change.”