CSR and its communication at Nestlé Australia

Perhaps the most telling evidence of Nestlé’s re-emergence is that it has developed from being known largely for its infant formula and the other scandals to becoming:

• one of the Top 50 word’s most admired corporations: 34th position in Fortune (2010) and 31st position in Fortune (2011);
• one of the best multinational companies for its corporate social responsibility (Fortune, 2008; ACCSR, 2009; FTSE, 2011);
• and first performer in 2011 in the food sector (Fortune, 2011 bis).

In March 2011, for example, Nestlé has become a constituent of the FTSE4Good Index Series. As introduced in chapter 1, FTSE4Good is an equity index series that is designed to facilitate investment in companies that meet globally recognised corporate responsibility standards. In particular, the company had to demonstrate that they meet the criteria through providing information and evidence to the independent research provider EIRIS, which has then been reviewed by the FTSE4Good Breast Milk Substitute (BMS) Marketing Committee (FTSE, 2011). In 2009 and in 2011 Nestlé has also received Gold Class ranking and featured in the SAM Sustainability Yearbook (SAM, 2011).

In 2001 Nestlé joined the UN Global Compact (UNGC) and since then it has embraced its 10 principles, integrated them into the Nestlé Corporate Business Principle (NCBP). Nestlé annual “Communication on Progress” (available online) illustrates its efforts in the issue areas of human rights, labour practices, the environment and anti-corruption. Furthermore, over the last few years, Nestlé has helped established a number of best practices of corporate governance. In 2008, the Annual General Meeting approved a complete revision of the Company’s Articles of Association and Nestlé produced for the first time a special annual Compensation Report which was approved by the shareholders as part of the annual financial statements.

Moreover, since 2009 Nestlé submits the Compensation Report to a separate advisory vote of its shareholder, a best practice increasingly followed by companies around the world (Nestlé S.A., 2011bis). However, despite all these activities, there are still some stakeholder groups that promote boycotts of Nestlé, criticising its performance on the very issues the firm has identified as core “CSR strengths” and on which it can reasonably be assumed it has improved its performance.