Initiatives of Nestlé Bangladesh
As amongst the world’s largest food and beverage company, Nestlé touches billions of lives worldwide. In Bangladesh too, we have made a difference in the lives of million people; from the farmers we work with to the individuals and families who enjoy our products, and the communities and natural environment which support our operations. We share the challenges and successes of the communities in which we operate. The following programmes highlight our commitment to creating shared value for Nestlé stakeholders and their communities.
Nestlé Healthy Kids
Nestlé Healthy Kids (NHK), based on a Nestlé global programme, was initiated in Bangladesh in 2010 at Nestlé’s Sreepur Factory area. It is dedicated to empowering teachers and children with nutrition education and promoting healthy lifestyles in the school environment and surrounding communities. In collaboration with nutrition experts, the programme now provides over 18,000 children in village schools across Gazipur district with knowledge on healthy diets and good nutritional practices.
Under NHK, students aged 13 to 17 years old learn about good food habits, nutritional deficiencies, food related disorders, food hygiene, and techniques to safeguard the nutritional value of food during preparation. The programme also helps transfer nutritional knowledge through the students to older family members back home, helping to build resilient and healthier communities around Nestlé factories. The Nestlé Healthy Kids Global Programme operates in 84 countries and has educated 8 million children so far.
Clean Drinking Water
Driven by a global commitment to promote best practices in water use, Nestlé Bangladesh helped construct water tanks in different primary schools across the country and provided training on sustainable water use. Our successful installation of sanitation facilities for girls in village schools of Gazipur resulted in a visible reduction in the drop-out ratio of female students in these institutions.
Amra Korbo Joy
As part of our commitment, we actively promote breastfeeding awareness, support in enhancing healthcare knowledge and provide livelihood to unemployed street vendors through an initiative called “Amra Korbo Joy”. We have also partnered with the 2030 Water Resource Group to lead the charge in advocating for sustainable water usage, and have worked with local NGOs to train farmers in an effort to enhance their employability.
Responsible Sourcing
Responsible sourcing practices at Nestlé help people to be better informed about what is in their food, where it comes from and how it is made. We help farmers and suppliers develop ethical practices to ensure sustainable supplies of quality ingredients for our products as well as to safeguard their incomes. Nestlé Bangladesh chooses its suppliers through strictly laid out procedures and engages with them according to internal non-negotiable minimum standards. Our suppliers are expected to maintain high standards in the areas of business ethics, human rights, fair labour practices, health and safety, and sustainable environmental standards.