Nestlé Waters Challenges Employees to Give Away One Million Bottles of Water

Nestlé Waters North America and Nestlé Waters Canada challenged their 9,000 employees in the U.S. and Canada to give away one million bottles of water to the people or causes of their choice by the end of 2016.

Nestlé Waters’ employees will choose who they give water to in two phases: direct, person-to-person gift coupon distribution beginning now, and larger donations by location rolling out this fall, in which employees at each of Nestlé Waters North America and Nestlé Waters Canada locations will collectively vote to select the recipient of this donation. In this second phase, teams at 93 company locations across the U.S. and Canada will each choose a local non-profit organization – from local schools, to community centers, to town libraries – to receive a large donation of water.

The new employee program, called “Healthy Hand-off,” engages staff at every level, enabling them to decide for themselves where to direct their own giveaways. The program is designed to move beyond the traditional top-down corporate giving model and underscore the company’s commitment to making a difference in the many communities where employees live and work.

“Our employees and our colleagues in the U.S. and Canada are so passionate about the role that water plays in helping people lead healthier lives, and it’s our hope this program empowers them to share the gift of water directly with the people and organizations that mean the most to them,” said Tim Brown, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Nestlé Waters North America. 

Nestlé Waters calculates that if the one million bottles replace carbonated soft drinks, the program’s success would collectively remove 140 million calories of sugar from consumers’ diets. That is equal to 462,000 cheeseburgers or 729,000 donuts. When a person replaces just one 12-ounce, 140-calorie sugared beverage with water each day for a year, they would reduce nearly 50,000 calories from their diet. 

Beverages make up a much larger portion of Americans’ daily calorie budgets than one might think. In fact, according to a 2015 joint report by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS), the average American gets more than 20 percent of his or her total caloric intake each day from beverages. Some 47 percent of added sugars come from beverages, despite recommendations that added sugars not exceed 10 percent of total calorie intake.

“Encouraging the consumption of water as healthy hydration is key to helping reverse America's obesity trend,” added Brown. “Bottled water can make an important difference by providing a calorie-free and on-the-go alternative to caloric sweetened beverages.”