What It Means to Be a Business of Care
By Christiane Baker, Director of Sustainability, Nestlé Health Science U.S.
Nestlé Health Science U.S. isn’t just in the business of health and nutrition, it’s in the business of care. That means we care about ensuring every aspect of our business has a net positive impact on both people and the planet. We aim to bring that commitment to life through the products we make, the actions we take, and the communities for which we care.
A Significant Milestone on Our Journey
On our journey as a business of care, we continuously evaluate our progress, hold ourselves accountable, and challenge ourselves to strive for more. Over the last two years, we have put that mindset into action by seeking B Corp Certification and joining a community of businesses dedicated to transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and our planet.
As a result of these efforts, we’re proud to have achieved B Corp Certification across several key U.S. businesses in our portfolio which include brands such as Compleat®, BOOST®, and Carnation Breakfast Essentials®. Additionally, Vitaflo® USA, a Nestlé Health Science company that provides specialized clinical nutrition products, has achieved certification. Vital Proteins®, a Nestlé Health Science company and leading collagen brand in the U.S.1, also earned this certification. These businesses join a list of others in our portfolio that are already B Corp certified including Garden of Life® and Nuun®.
B Corp Certification marks an important milestone on our sustainability journey and a significant step as part of our commitment to being a business of care.
The Road to B Corp Certification
To attain B Corp Certification, our businesses were required to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability across five areas: Governance, Workers, Community, Environment, and Customers. As part of this rigorous review process, B Lab’s independent analysts evaluate an organization’s impact and commitment to all stakeholders across the value chain, including suppliers, employees, local communities, and the planet.
Through the certification process, we’re inspired to pursue certification for several more of our businesses, and we look forward to contributing to the B Corp community and movement for years to come.
Continuing to Innovate and Impact
We’re proud of the steps we’ve implemented to reach our certification, and we recognize there’s still work to do to expand and accelerate our positive impact. Being a business of care means working diligently to responsibly source our ingredients and streamline our packaging while investing in the innovation needed to foster a more regenerative and resilient future.
We’re working to ensure all our factories and sites are powered by 100% renewable energy by 2025. We’re also making progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, sourcing ingredients that have significant nutritional value with minimal environmental impact, reducing virgin plastic use, and striving to make all packaging recyclable. Here are some other examples of how we’re implementing sustainable practices across the business:
- Our Eau Claire, WI, factory, which manufactures medical nutrition formulas and nutritional drink products like Peptamen® and BOOST®, is a zero waste-to-landfill facility, is single-use plastic-free and is making investments in water optimization.
- The Eau Claire facility was also recognized in 2022 by the U.S. Dept. of Energy Better Plants initiative for reaching its energy reduction goal more than two years ahead of schedule.
- This year Vitaflo® USA moved manufacturing of its PKU sphereTM liquid to our Eau Claire factory and, as a result was able to convert to Tetra Pak® reducing the amount of virgin plastic by 76%.2
- Earlier this year, Carnation Breakfast Essentials® Original Nutritional Drinks also moved to Tetra Pak® cartons to help eliminate over 3.8 million pounds of plastic annually.
- In October 2022, our research and development operation in Bridgewater, NJ was recognized by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection’s annual Recycling Awards program for numerous recycling, composting and waste reduction initiatives. Through these efforts, the site has been able to keep 90% of waste out of landfills.
- We invest in and support farmers, producers and suppliers across our supply chain that use regenerative practices that benefit human and environmental health. For example, we have worked to ensure all cocoa products across our portfolio are Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM, and we’re helping dairy farmers overcome the barriers to creating climate-smart dairy by supporting select farms to drive down greenhouse gas emissions.
- As one of the first Nestlé group of businesses to join the Net Zero Initiative by U.S. Dairy, Nestlé Health Science U.S. is helping select farms implement more sustainable solutions that better their business and the planet. This initiative supports dairy farmers’ ability to significantly drive down greenhouse gas emissions in four key areas: sustainable cow feed, manure management, renewable energy, and regenerative agriculture.
- Vital Proteins® is removing plastic scoops from all applicable U.S. products, with the goal to be 100% scoopless by the end of 2023.
- We are committed to treating all the people our business touches with care, and we couldn’t do what we do without our employees. To support our team members, we offer a range of benefits that include programs to empower their physical, financial, and emotional well-being.
We know that being a sustainability leader means that our work is never done, and we look forward to continuing to innovate and find new ways to create a better future for all.
To learn more about B Corp Certification, visit www.bcorporation.net.
- SPINS, TOTAL US MULO + NATURAL ENHANCED, L52 weeks ending 8/7/2022
- When comparing each individual plastic bottle to an individual Tetra Pak®
