Nurturing a healthier generation starts with us, today.

Challenges

The world is facing several global health challenges. In 2019, 38 million children under the age of five were overweight or obese, while 47 million in the same age group suffered from wasting.¹¹

Children in the Middle East and North Africa suffer from a triple burden of malnutrition, with overweight, undernutrition, and micronutrient deficiencies¹⁰ co-existing.

Our Commitment

Nestlé’s ambition is to play a role in tackling children’s nutrition and lifestyle habits through the Nestlé for Healthier Kids global initiative which aims to help 50 million children lead healthier lives by 2030.

HERE we can embed the VIDEO of Nestle for Healthier Kids:
Nestlé for Healthier Kids Launch with Nestlé CEO - YouTube

What we have done so far

Research in children nutrition

To enhance global understanding of children’s nutritional needs and guide our product portfolio development, we at Nestlé conduct studies around the world in collaboration with local partners, including both the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS) and the Kids Nutrition and Health Study (KIDS) in select countries to better understand children’s dietary intakes and the impact of factors such as meal timing, types of foods consumed at each meal, and feeding practices.

In the Middle East and North Africa, Nestlé Research completed in 2020 a large-scale nutrition study for the United Arab Emirates that provided a deeper understanding of children’s nutrition in the country, revealing various micronutrient inadequacies. The local FITS and KIDS research was conducted by United Arab Emirates University, the University of Sharjah, and Tathqeef Health Treatment Undertakings Services, in partnership with the American University of Beirut, and Nestlé Research which designed the methodologies and covered financing.

These valuable findings support product research and innovation, allowing us to better meet local and regional nutritional needs through our products, and to shape the information we provide to parents and caregivers. Such studies add to national discussions and help promote further multisectoral collaborations to formulate evidence-based interventions and nutrition related policies.

Product innovation and the introduction of healthier foods

We are expanding our kids’ products portfolio to further help meet the needs of children throughout the day. We do this by designing science-based nutritious and exciting foods and beverages for children, while continuously improving nutrition in existing products.

Organic infant cereals 

Gerber provides a range of organic baby food suitable as of the age of six months. Two variants of organic infant cereals were launched in 2020: wheat, oats, and banana; and wheat, oats, and vanilla. 

Organic infant cereals 

Cerelac Farmer’s selection offers a choice of four tasty variants made with five cereals and quinoa and fortified with Iron and 11 vitamins. Free of added sucrose, artificial flavors, or added preservatives, they are suitable for babies as of the age of six months. 

More fruits in infant snacks

Gerber fruits and vegetables puree pouches, are organic and gluten free, made with all-natural ingredients, and contain no artificial flavors, colors, added preservatives, or added sugars.

Organic infant snacks

Gerber puffs and biscuits are organic and gluten free nutritious snacks for babies. They are easy to pick up and eat, are made with all-natural ingredients, and contain no artificial flavors, colors, added preservatives, added sugars, or salt. All babies get are real fruits and vegetables!

Nutritionally balanced growing-up milk

NIDO THREE Plus is free of sucrose, fortified with vitamins and minerals and enriched with probiotics and other nutrients that support brain and visual development, and gut defenses.

Forever-improved fortified milk powder for school-age nutrition

NIDO offers a fortified milk powder designed to support the nutritional needs of school-aged children and made with 100% natural cow milk with no artificial flavors, colors, or added preservatives.

Vitamins A, C, D, and Zinc are added to support healthy immunity, Iron to support proper cognitive development, and Calcium and vitamin D to promote healthy growth of bones and teeth.

Affordable nutrition

Nestlé Fortified Nutritious Formula provides a dairy-based formula fortified with Iron, Zinc, vitamins A, C, and D, with no artificial flavors, colors, or added preservatives.

Two recommended daily glasses provide more than 50% of daily Iron needs of school-aged children

It is also designed to help support strong immunity, healthy brain development, and proper development of bones and teeth in children.

Organic breakfast cereals

Nesquik organic breakfast cereal contains at least 50% wholegrains that are known to be naturally rich in essential micronutrients. It’s 100% organic with no artificial colors, flavors, or added preservatives.

Wholegrain breakfast on-the-go

Honey Cheerios cereal bars are a nutritious breakfast option for kids, launched in 2020 in the Middle East and North Africa. They are made with wholegrains as their number one ingredient, consisting of at least 38% wholegrains, and include five different types of wholegrain cereals that infuse rich and diverse nutritional value.

The bars are prepared with the delicious honey taste kids love, with no added artificial colors or flavors. They are also a source of Calcium and B-vitamins which are essential for normal growth and development. 

Wholegrain breakfast offerings

A fun bear-shaped wholegrain cereal portion, NAT Bears was launched to encourage children to consume more milk for optimal growth and development.

The bars are made with wholegrain as their number one ingredient, consisting of at least 50% wholegrains as well as all-natural ingredients.

More veggies in soups and Meal Kits

Maggi is applying its 'Simply Delicious and Nutritious' principles across its product range, using only ingredients consumers know and love, more plant-based ingredients such as vegetables, and fiber-rich grains and legumes, fortifying its products with essential micronutrients and reducing their salt and fat content.

In the Middle East and North Africa, Maggi has developed a range of kids soups and meal kits designed as per the nutritional needs of school-aged kids (4-8 years old) made with locally common spices, herbs, vegetables, and grains. These products are free of added artificial colors, flavors, or added preservatives, and offer children one of their five a day recommended vegetable servings.

Education and innovative nutrition and lifestyle programs and services

Running at schools, in stores, online, and in communities, Nestlé offers a variety of programs and services aimed at improving nutrition and promoting healthier lifestyles.

Nestlé for Healthier Kids School Nutrition Education Program

Now in more than 80 countries, we have provided support to over 80 million children, the Nestlé for Healthier Kids school nutrition education program helps raise awareness of the importance of good nutrition and active lifestyles among school-aged children around the world. The Program is implemented in partnerships and collaboration with local academic institutions, NGOs, nutrition institutes, national sports federations, and governments.

In the Middle East and North Africa, the Program is implemented under the name of “Ajyal Salima,” which means “healthy generations” in Arabic. The regional curriculum, aimed at promoting nutrition knowledge and healthy eating habits among 9-14 year-old schoolchildren, was scientifically developed by the American University of Beirut to answer specific Middle Eastern community issues and address nutritional habits and requirements.

First launched in Lebanon in 2010 and since implemented in six countries, Ajyal Salima is the only evidence-based nutrition education program in the region,¹ proven to improve nutrition knowledge and eating behavior with six publications^4-9 in peer-reviewed journals.

The Program has become part of the national school curriculum in Lebanon, is endorsed by Her Majesty Queen Rania in Jordan, is embedded in Ministry of Education programs in Palestine, and is part of the Bahrain Ministry of Health Strategy to address childhood obesity.

A locally tailored Ajyal Salima program in Egypt has reached more than 760,000 children and teachers at 1,000 schools in 12 governorates, implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Education and local NGOs. It also offered scientific-based interventions in collaboration with Egypt’s National Research Center to help raise awareness among families.

Adopt a Fruit, Adopt a Vegetable

Good food decisions start in-store. Through retail and e-retail initiatives, we use our influence, and that of our retail partners, to encourage parents to fill their shopping baskets with healthier options and to encourage kids to change from being passive to active participants in the shopping journey, hence shaping their behaviors.

Running intermittently since 2017 in select Middle East and North Africa countries under the umbrella of Nestlé for Healthier Kids, “Adopt a Fruit, Adopt a Vegetable” retail activations educate children about nutrition facts through fun and engaging activities within supermarkets and retail outlets. The call to eat more fruits and vegetables is brought to life through various characters created out of fruits and vegetables, with names and key benefits of each presented in a fun and appealing manner. Activities are led by nutritionists and include special trolleys as well as in-store leaflets that encourage varied food shopping.

The rollout of the initiative followed evidence from various research indicating that children will adopt healthier eating habits if educated about nutritious food options and inspired on how to choose for themselves.  

We have so far collaborated with six partners in nine countries on these activations and we’re expanding their reach on e-commerce sites.

TummyFish

A “virtual pet” – essentially a digital fish appearing to swim in a child’s belly which gets happier and vigorous with more water consumption, and sad and slow when sweetened drinks replace water – TummyFish aims to encourage children to choose water over sugary drinks.

First launched in Dubai in 2016, TummyFish is available as a book and an interactive App in both English and Arabic, and has been downloaded more than 250,000 times.

The award-winning storybook and free mobile App are endorsed by the Dubai Health Authority and are constantly promoted as part of healthy hydration campaigns in Jordan and Lebanon with the support of the Royal Health Awareness Authority and the American University of Beirut.

Parents are invited to download TummyFish from the App Store or Google Play.

The related book is also available on the leading regional reading platform Kutubee.

Nestlé Baby & me, Mom & me

Adopting good nutrition habits from an early age is essential to becoming a healthy adult. The Nestlé Baby & me website offers personalized nutrition services to parents in the first 1,000 days of life - from pregnancy through to the baby’s second birthday.

The Program is available in over 50 countries and almost 10 million parents are currently registered. Its services, mainly online, include an engaging e-learning course that turns the latest scientific findings into simple, practical feeding advice.

In the Middle East and North Africa, Baby & me is localized to regional needs under the banner of Mom & me.

#CookTogether

A key factor in encouraging healthy habits is to get children excited about nutritious food. Research shows that involving children in food preparation increases the likelihood that they will try more fruits and vegetables.^2,11 In 2019, Nestlé launched a global online campaign, #CookTogether, which encourages parents to involve their children in the preparation of delicious, healthy meals and snacks.

By the end of 2020, 450 million parents and caregivers had been reached, including more than 45 million emanating from the Middle East and North Africa.

Nearly 100 nutritious recipes specifically designed for children can be found on the regional Nestlé for Healthier Kids website, and on the Program’s regional Instagram and Facebook pages.

International Chefs Day

International Chefs Day, celebrated annually on October 20, involves chefs from around the world working together with teachers and parents to share their love for healthy cooking and teach children basic healthy cooking skills.

In collaboration with the World Association of Chefs Societies and participation of volunteer chefs, Nestlé has been celebrating International Chefs Day across the world and in the Middle East and North Africa since 2015, as part of ongoing efforts to inspire children to eat healthier.

Get Onboard!

For more on Nestlé for Healthier Kids, please go to the initiative’s website, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube pages.

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References:
1. Brown, T.; Moore, T.H.M.; Hooper, L.; Gao, Y.; Zayegh, A.; Ijaz, S.; Elwenspoek, M.; Foxen, S.C.; Magee, L.; O’Malley, C.; et al. Interventions for preventing obesity in children. Cochrane Database Syst. Rev. 2019. 2. Chu YL et al. Overall diet quality was higher among Canadian fifth graders who helped prepare home meals at least once a week compared with those who never helped with meal preparation. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2014;46:304-8
3. Guthold R, Stevens GA, Riley LM, Bull FC. Global trends in insufficient physical activity among adolescents: a pooled analysis of 298 population-based surveys with 1·6 million participants. Lancet Child Adolesc Heal. 2019;4(1):23–35
4. Habib-Mourad, C., Ghandour, L.A., Maliha, C. et al.Impact of a one-year school-based teacher-implemented nutrition and physical activity intervention: main findings and future recommendations. BMC Public Health 20, 256 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-8351-3
5. Habib-Mourad, C.; Ghandour, L.A.; Maliha, C.; Dagher, M.; Kharroubi, S.; Hwalla, N. Impact of a Three-Year Obesity Prevention Study on Healthy Behaviors and BMI among Lebanese Schoolchildren: Findings from Ajyal Salima Program. Nutrients2020, 12, 2687. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12092687
6. Habib-Mourad C and Ghandour LA (2015) Time to act: lessons learnt from the first pilot school-based intervention study from Lebanon to prevent and reduce childhood obesity.  Public Health3:56. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2015.00056
7. Habib-Mourad, C., Ghandour, L.A., Moore, H.J. et al.Promoting healthy eating and physical activity among school children: findings from Health-E-PALS, the first pilot intervention from Lebanon. BMC Public Health 14, 940 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-940
8. Habib-Mourad, C.and Moore, H. and Nabhani, Z.M. and Hwalla, N. and Summerbell, C. (2014) 'Health-E-PALS: promoting healthy eating and physical activity in Lebanese school children – intervention development.', Education and health., 32 (1). pp. 3-8. http://dro.dur.ac.uk/13274/1/13274.pdf?DDD45+pzln56+ddpw36+d700tmt
9. Habib-Mourad, C., Hwalla, N. Two-year Intervention and One Year Follow-up of a School-based program to Promote Healthy Behaviors and Prevent Childhood Obesity in Lebanese Children: “The Healthier Kids Cohort Study”. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2019-10-01, Volume 119, Issue 10, Pages A150-A150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2019.08.170
10. Nasreddine, L. et al. Nutritional Status and Dietary Intakes of Children Amid the Nutrition Transition: The Case of the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Res. Vol 56, 2018.
11. Shim JE et al. Involving young children (2-5y) in food preparation increased frequency of fruit and vegetable intakes. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2016;48:311-7
12. The state of the world's children. children, food and nutrition: growing well in a changing world. UNICEF, New York, NY2019

More and more people are embracing a plant-based menu, and we're right there with them.

From the Americas to Asia, from Europe to Africa to Australia, we're serving up delicious plant-based food and beverages that deliver on taste, nutrition and value – offering people great alternatives for the food they already love.

For some, meat makes a meal. But an increasing number of people are choosing meat and dairy less often, as part of a 'flexitarian' diet. Studies have shown that up to 40% of consumers are already moving to a diet with less or even zero animal products. In the past two years, the sale of plant-based foods in the U.S. has grown by 27%.

Switching to plant-based food and beverages is not only interesting from a health point of view, but could also help in the fight against global warming. Accelerating the plant-based switch should help us attain our company commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, contributing to the ambitious aim of the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C.

But to make a real impact, food companies need to offer more than just plant-based burgers. Which is why at Nestlé, we've got alternatives for every occasion.Whether you're sitting down for breakfast, grabbing coffee or snacks on the go, or enjoying a meal with family. Our diverse menu includes plant-based alternatives to meat and seafood, veggie-centric meal options. There's also ready meals and recipe mixes, plant-based alternatives to dairy, coffee mixes and creamers, ice cream, cheese, and confectionery.

And there's more to come – our global network of 300 food experts and chefs constantly research, tweak, and experiment to keep on improving our plant-based options.

Our Garden Gourmet food range in Europe continues to expand. One example is Vuna, our alternative to tuna based on pea protein with just six natural ingredients. It has the texture, flavor and appearance of tuna. Switching to sustainably produced plant-based seafood alternatives can help reduce overfishing and protect the biodiversity of oceans, so we have more seafood alternative launches on the horizon.

In Asia, Harvest Gourmet is adapting to local tastes, such as a plant-based version of Kung Pao Chicken. Our local product development and production sites in China and Malaysia are feeding local demand.

In the U.S. we've been offering up clean-label, meat-free foods with the award-winning brand Sweet Earth Foods. Frozen meals, burritos, breakfast sandwiches and plant-based burgers are available in an ever-increasing number of grocery stores across the country. Under the Sweet Earth brand, we also launched the plant-based Awesome Burger and Awesome Grounds as well as Sweet Earth Sausages.

We also have a strong and growing portfolio of plant-based alternatives to dairy made from pea, oat, soy, coconut, and more. Wunda is our new pea-based milk alternative that is epic in everything, whether poured over cereals or added to your favorite hot beverage. The best bit? It's carbon neutral.

We're hoping to help make a global difference by spreading plant-based options to as many people as possible around the world. That's why as well as great new brands, we're introducing plant-based versions of some of our most-loved names like KitKat, Milo or Nescafé. We're dedicated to making delicious, healthy and sustainable food available whenever and wherever we can.

Looking out for the next generation is something we're passionate about. Which is why we help millions of parents provide a healthier diet for their children through a wide range of programs such as our Nestlé for Healthier Kids global initiative.

As part of this program and based on the understanding that many children fall short in meeting fruit and vegetable recommendations, we've joined forces with retailers and launched 'Adopt a Fruit, Adopt a Vegetable'. Together we offer parents fruits and vegetables with their purchase of Nestlé products. We’re also ensuring that we promote our most nutritious foods and beverages. For instance, products containing whole grain, less sugar and salt, as well as organic and plant-based products. Since our launch in the Middle East, we rolled out our ‘Adopt a Fruit, Adopt a Vegetable'  initiative across 16 other countries.

Our Nestlé for Healthier Kids initiative goes far beyond the supermarket. Our objective is to raise awareness on the importance of food education for children. We help parents through school educational materials for their children, and inform caregivers through public communication campaigns. In 2020, we’ve reached over 350 million parents with our global online campaign, #cooktogether, through which we encouraged the involvement of children in the preparation of delicious, nutritious meals and snacks.

We have many programs designed to help parents and families enjoy healthier diets.

In recent years, we've launched thousands of products for kids and families that meet external nutrition yardsticks. We've not only provided billions of micronutrient servings via our affordable and nutritious products, but we’re helping to enable families through several initiatives across the globe:

• We educate parents on healthy eating through our Maggi cooking caravans.
   
• NIDO education programs support caregivers with parenting advice and provide nutrition tips.
   
• My MenuIQ is our unique online nutritional scoring tool that evaluates and measures the nutritional balance of diverse recipes, to help families cook healthier and tastier dishes at home. In addition, it encourages them to choose food and meal combinations that support a healthier, more balanced diet.

Good nutrition in children is something we feel strongly about. Which is why we have an ongoing ambition to help 50 million children lead healthier lives by 2030.

As part of our regenerative journey, we are working hard to ensure that millions of people can access the nutrients they need. In 2020 alone, we delivered over 196 billion servings of fortified food in countries where people need it the most.

Globally, we invest in research and innovation to launch thousands of affordable, nutritious products. By fortifying affordable food brands they know and love, we can help millions of families get the nutrition they need to nourish their bodies.

Our family-favourites such as Maggi, Bear Brand, and Cerevita are popular and affordable choices. We fortify brands like these with at least one of the Big 4 micronutrients:

1. Iron to prevent iron deficiency anaemia and maintain cognitive and physical development
2. Iodine for optimal brain development and a healthy metabolism
3. Vitamin A for growth and development, good eye health, and a strong immune system
4. Zinc for growth and development, and a strong immune system

Awareness is the first step, so we help educate families on the importance of micronutrients in diets. We team up with governments, universities, and civil society organizations to help inspire action through educational and social media campaigns as well as supporting important micronutrient deficiency research.

With this objective, in 2019, we began supporting the 'Live Strong with Iron' campaign in Africa to drive behavior change such as including iron-rich foods in daily diets. In 2020, we extended the campaign and developed a tool called MyMenu IQ, providing iron-related nutrition tips and recipes that are high in this vital micronutrient.

Small adjustments can make a big difference. 70% of urban Indian families buy our Maggi 2-Minute Masala Noodles. In 2017, we fortified our noodles with 15% of the recommended daily iron requirements. By enhancing the nutritional quality of this popular product, we help bridge the nutrient gap and make a big contribution to reduce one of India's leading nutritional deficiencies.

We know our work is by no means finished. Across the globe, we continue designing solutions to help more families get the nutrients they need to live healthier lives.

Everyone has a right to access safe and clean water. But climate change, increased water consumption, growing urbanization and damaged infrastructure are some of the factors contributing to the deterioration of the natural water cycle.

So, at Nestlé Waters we teamed up with local partners in Benha, Egypt, to rehabilitate and help improve the local water supply together with the authorities. This is just one of the many projects we’re working on as part of our journey to regeneration.

We've committed to advancing the regeneration of local water cycles through the implementation of more than 100 projects for our 48 Nestlé Waters sites by 2025. This recent initiative builds on our 2017 commitment to certify all of our Nestlé Waters' sites by the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) by 2025.

To achieve our target, we work in close collaboration with partners and communities wherever we operate. Collaboration is at the heart of good water stewardship. Through partnerships and support, we can help make a difference and inspire regenerative water approaches.

Benha, Egypt is home to one of our bottling facilities. It's also home to the local community of Kafr Arbeen. This village of 27,000 people was lacking much-needed access to clean water. So, together with local municipalities, we worked to help address the issue.

One of the challenges in the area was the lack of reliable safe and clean drinking water. So, we worked together with the local water authority to revamp their water station which supplies water to the village's residents via its piping network. We replaced the old water storage tank with a new bigger one and improved the pumping efficiency of the existing well. On top of this, we installed a new filtration system and expanded the piping network so that more people can have clean running water in their homes.

We also looked at the rehabilitation of the Senaity Canal. Kafr Arbeen is surrounded by a vast amount of agricultural land; however, the main source of water for the land wasn't meeting the needs of the local community. The canal was polluted with waste, and the broken walls were leading to water leakages. We started by cleaning the waste, and then we worked to reinforce the canal floor and walls with concrete to prevent the water from leaking and improve the flow of water to the agricultural land.

This led to better crop health and yield, meaning more profits for the farmers and a better outcome for the local community.

Everyone deserves access to clean and safe water, so with our local partners in Egypt, we continue to work to help uphold these standards.

This is just one of the many projects we're working on as part of our new commitment to help create a positive water impact everywhere our waters business operates by 2025.

On our journey to regeneration, we train farmers to make use of the resources available to them. Which includes manure.

We assist in the construction of biogas digesters to turn cow manure into biogas so it can be repurposed for cooking as well as for lighting – and curtailing a powerful greenhouse gas in the process. This is part of a long-term partnership with Indonesian small hold dairy farmers, together with the organization HIVOS and dairy cooperatives.

Through the BIRU Biogas program, we provide training and assistance to dairy farmers to process their cow manure, to become biogas. Thanks to this training, we help prevent cow manure from being improperly disposed of. Rather, it is processed to become a source of energy to replace firewood and other energy sources and can even be shared with local neighbors. Thanks to this program, the dairy farms generate less emissions.

HIVOS research held in five provinces, including East Java, shows that biogas utilization has many benefits:

• Reduction of the utilization of fire wood (31%), LPG (17%) for cooking and kerosene
• Reduction of health problems caused by smoke on women and children including eye irritation (25%), eye infection (14%), cough (18%) and breathing disorder (10%)
• Reduction of tree cutting in the state forests, used for firewood from 12% to 3%
• Reduction of the utilization of firewood gathered from trees in the farms and home yards from 78% to 55%
• Development of plant and organic fertilizer from bioslurry
• Creation of 380 new job opportunities

Data: Biogas User Survey Program BIRU 2020

Our partnership with dairy farmers in East Java began in 1975 when Nestlé first purchased 160 litres of fresh milk from dairy cooperative SAE Pujon. The partnership has gone from strength to strength for over 45 years and involved about 27,000 dairy farmers. 8,200 biogas digesters have already been installed, allowing family farmers to generate their own energy. We hope to continue to train more and more farmers to help support livelihoods and the protection of the environment for generations to come.

More than a morning pick me up; for some people, coffee is life. So it's crucial we support the people who bring you your daily cup.

We work closely with over 200,000 coffee farmers worldwide through our global coffee sustainability programs like Nescafé Plan and Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality. These programs not only help these farmers thrive, but are part of our journey to regeneration.

We believe people and nature need to work in harmony. Which is why we enlist the expertise of over 600 agronomists around the world, to support coffee farmers for a more productive and sustainable harvest.

Since 2010 we’ve enabled over 900,000 farmer trainings on good agricultural practices for the farmers we work with. With the knowledge gained, they can improve efficiency and quality on their farms. With the help of these trainings, they are more informed and able to diversify their crops. This helps reduce economic risk and at the same time, improve biodiversity and reduce their environmental footprint, for example by utilizing more efficient irrigation methods.

Many of the farmers we work with are women. Yet it is important to keep promoting better access to land, credit, and information for them. We’re on a journey to help with this.

We start by addressing gender biases. And we're committed to training our farming partners and agronomists to help advance the industry to be more diverse and equitable. We have reached 15,000 women in East Africa over the past 8 years benefiting them with knowledge of good farming practices, financial literacy, and leadership. They learn about better practices ranging from pruning and weeding, to mulching and harvesting, and also learn about how to best commercialize their crops.

With their new skillsets, these women can improve their income. Greater financial independence not only empowers the women themselves, but it helps lead the way for girls and women in the future.

As well as supporting established farmers, we're passionate about future generations. We made a commitment to help ten million young people worldwide to access economic opportunities by 2030. As part of that commitment, we established Nescafé Youth and launched a Coffee Quality Competence Center in collaboration with the local government in Honduras.

This initiative gives young people a place to learn more about coffee production, good agricultural practices and coffee quality. They also acquire digital skills, business acumen and self-confidence which could lead towards better job opportunities or the start of their own business. Through this initiative, we’re committing to train up to 25,000 young people in Honduras by 2025 and we're expanding our youth trainings in Mexico, Colombia and Brazil.

All of these actions will support us on our regenerative journey. By engaging with young people, we want to unlock their creativity and innovation. We're giving them the tools to help them build more sustainable coffee growing models, uplift coffee production and foster the next generation of leaders in coffee communities.

Globally, water scarcities and seasonal flooding are local water challenges that can present a major issue that severely affects communities.

So we at Nestlé Waters set to work at a local level, in places like riverside towns in the U.K. as well as farmlands in Pakistan. Helping to manage shared water challenges such as minimizing flood risks and tackling water scarcity, wherever we can.

For us to help contribute to the retention and regeneration of water across the world, we have to work on a project by project basis. Each location bears its own challenges, and risks, but also solutions. So, we partner with experts, who have the relevant local knowledge to try and address these specific cases.

Buxton, U.K. is a famous British spa town, known for its natural mineral water. It's also prone to flooding, mostly due to weather and the natural geography of the area. The town is surrounded by steep hills with streams that can lead to overflowing during intense and prolonged periods of rain. The landscape and lack of areas for water to gather or be absorbed means that fast flowing water flows directly to the river. The result is often burst riverbanks in the centre of town, which affects the lives of everyone living and working in the area.

To help solve this issue, we’ve partnered with local stakeholders to come up with practical, natural interventions to help prevent further flooding. All the options are intended to work together with nature. Our aim is to help retain more water in the landscape so that it doesn’t rush into the river too rapidly during rainy periods and cause flooding. All our approaches are natural interventions with a focus on regeneration, aiming to also increase biodiversity and carbon capture across the area.

Elsewhere, in Pakistan, we identified another water management issue. Across the region, farmers are using flood irrigation to water their fields. So, we partnered with the government to support local farmers on more sustainable practices that focus on regenerative agriculture.

By supporting farmers to switch to different irrigation methods, they were able to reduce their water usage by over 60%. This was achieved using new techniques, whilst still supporting farmers' vital crops. Activated across 10,000 hectares of land, we worked with farmers to switch from flood irrigation techniques to furrow, as well as drip irrigation for rice and corn. This led to huge water savings estimated at 20 million cubic meters of water per year. That's the equivalent of 120 billion glasses of water.

These are just a few of the projects we're working on to help create a positive water impact, everywhere we operate by 2025.

Our vision is that the future of the dairy industry can be Net Zero. This is an important step toward fighting climate change. This is why we're helping transform the U.S. dairy industry by joining the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy's Net Zero Initiative.

We're supporting dairy farmers across the country to implement new technologies and adopt more environmental practices, in a way that makes economic sense. The aim is for the industry to achieve net zero carbon emissions, while optimizing water usage and improving water quality by 2050.

Focussing on scaling climate-smart agricultural initiatives is crucial in our journey to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and will help reduce the carbon footprint of many of our products. We're not just collaborating with the U.S. dairy industry but with our suppliers throughout the world to contribute to the industry’s transformation.

On the farms we partner with, there is a range of practical solutions that are undertaken with this goal in mind. For instance, the cow's manure is recovered to efficiently and effectively fertilize crops through nutrient recovery. Methane, a potent greenhouse gas, can be captured through state-of-the-art technology, or reduced by improving cows’ diets. The water produced on farms is used to irrigate crops or recycled back into the cows’ troughs and soakers.

While we were the first company to join the Net Zero Initiative, we hope that others will join us in order to help propel the entire industry's progress toward a more sustainable future. Farmers in our supply-chain are already on-board, like Jon Rebeiro, Farm Manager at Trinkler Dairy – the first net zero demonstration farm in the U.S.

"Today on the farm, we use a lot of sustainable practices, all of our manure that's produced by the cows is either used to fertilize crops or it's dried and used for bedding. To reduce emissions on the dairy farm, it is not a one-size-fits all approach for every dairy."

Jon, like many dairy farmers, is one example of how the U.S. dairy industry is tackling this challenge with innovation and sustainability in mind.

Within our brands, like Carnation, we are very excited about the partnership we have with our dairy farmers. What efforts like the Net Zero Initiative can mean for our farmers, our community, and our planet is going to be so exciting to see.

For most people, coffee is a simple daily ritual. But it's a pleasure we mustn't take for granted. To work toward a sustainable coffee, we look at the entire value chain, from source to the shelf.

Over a decade ago, we launched a global coffee sustainability initiative called the Nescafé Plan. As part of the plan, we work towards reducing the environmental impact of coffee, from farming to our factories.

We're working closely with coffee farmers across the globe, in places like Brazil, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Mexico, the Philippines, and Vietnam. We also help rejuvenate coffee crops by distributing superior coffee plantlets to farmers. Since 2010, we’re proud to have distributed 235 million high-yielding and disease-resistant coffee plantlets to farmers. This contribution has aided the restoration of almost 120,000 hectares of coffee farms worldwide, supporting the increase in soil health and resilience.

Diversifying crops is also a big part of our approach. To help increase productivity, resiliency, and quality, we developed and released 15 new arabica and Robusta coffee varieties in Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Philippines, and Thailand.

Nestlé has made the commitment to have 100% of its coffee responsibly sourced by 2025. This means that the coffee can be traced back to an identified farmer group and verified or certified by independent organizations. At the end of 2020, Nescafé was already sourcing 75% of its coffee responsibly and it will continue to step up its work towards 100%.

From the plants to our cup, we put a lot of love into our coffee. We aim to reduce carbon emissions where we source coffee and throughout our operations. We are also addressing our coffee's packaging materials and taking many steps to help reach Nestlé's commitment to making its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025.

It's so much more than a cup of coffee to us. It’s about helping build resilient and regenerative coffee agriculture systems. It's about supporting the protection and restoration of forests. It's driving sustainable livelihoods for farmers. It's respecting human rights. From farmers, to cooperatives, to traders – by working together with nature we can reach our goals.