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Highlights and challenges

Actions we’ve taken

  • We have further improved our Human Rights Due Diligence Programme that now includes eight pillars: policy commitments, stakeholder engagement, training, risk assessment, impact assessment, Nestlé’s Human Rights Working Group, partnerships and dialogue, and monitoring and reporting (see Human rights for specific actions we've taken on each of these pillars).
  • We’ve agreed to extend the EU Pledge on marketing to ‘under 12s’ to cover third-party online advertising and brand websites.
  • We’ve worked hard to influence our retailers’ and distributors’ compliance with the WHO Code on the marketing of breast-milk substitutes.
  • We have progressively implemented our Nestlé Integrity Reporting System across the Group.
  • Our anti-corruption training tool reflects Nestlé’s position to ban all forms of facilitation payments, regardless of whether such payments are legal under local laws.
  • CARE Audit questionnaire revised and scope of audit expanded to include a Security section.

Challenges we’ve faced

  • This year, we focused our efforts on five challenging human rights areas: alignment, awareness-raising, developing a grievance mechanism, external communication and beyond respect (see Human rights: How we've performed for detailed information).
  • Lack of clarity around the WHO Code has delayed progress in its implementation and we need to build constructive dialogue to go forward. Read more here.
  • Market by Market implementation of Nestlé Integrity Reporting System meant that data protection and other legal hurdles had to be addressed on a case by case basis which in some instances led to a lengthy deployment process.
  • Increased scrutiny of lawmakers in the area of corruption requires re-enforced in-house compliance programs (for example, UK bribery act).
  • We were one of the first major companies to start eliminating BPA in infant foods.

Our performance

  • We’ve been able to report and demonstrate progress against core GRI human rights indicators covering the following areas: investment and procurement practices, non-discrimination, freedom of association and collective bargaining, child labour, forced and compulsory labour, security practices, indigenous rights, assessment and remediation (see Human rights: How we've performed for detailed information).
  • We’ve completed 150 CARE audits this year, with no critical non-compliances identified.
  • 24 Markets are live with the Nestlé Integrity Reporting System and 185 complaints were received in 2012.
  • 657 units are now certified under our Quality Management system.
  • We’ve recalled 11 products due to concerns about quality and safety.
  • We have been invited to present our Human Rights Due Diligence Programme at a number of international and regional events (see Human Rights: Stakeholder engagement for more information).