Nestlé Waters North America Celebrates World Water Day

STAMFORD, Conn., March 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA) celebrates World Water Day by bringing water education to nearly 600 elementary school children across the United States, helping to engage the next generation of water users about the positive impact they can have on the world's supply of freshwater. In recognition of World Water Day on March 22, youngsters will get their hands wet learning about water resources through fun, hands-on activities at "Together 4 Water" festivals hosted by Project WET (Water Education for Teachers). The festivals are taking place in three communities where NWNA operates: Zephyrhills, Florida; Cabazon, California; and Stamford, Connecticut.

The festivals kick off a year of water education, with more than a dozen education events planned throughout 2016 including inFlorida, Maine, Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Carolina as well as British Columbia.

"Kids will learn about water stewardship and participate in engaging activities to help them understand how water works, its role in our body, and how to minimize the impact of packaging," said Dennis Nelson, president and CEO, Project WET Foundation. These activities include The Incredible Journey (explaining the water cycle), Quenching Your Thirst (promoting healthy hydration), and Zero in on No Waste (underscoring the importance of recycling).

"Nestlé Waters has been a global sponsor of Project WET for more than 20 years.  Together, they celebrate World Water Day in 30 countries every year. In 2015, more than 1,000 employees and close to 25,000 children joined in these celebrations," Nelson continued.  

"World Water Day is an opportunity to highlight the role of water in sustaining our lives, our communities, the environment and our economy," said Nelson Switzer, chief sustainability officer for Nestlé Waters North America. "While children and adults alike feel a natural kinship to water, many have not had the chance to learn about what ties us to water. Water education programs like Project WET are a great way to inspire a lifetime of water stewardship."

An Ongoing Focus on Water Sustainability for Nestlé Waters North America

In addition to supporting education efforts, Nestlé Waters takes an innovative approach to water management in both its operations and in the community.  A few examples of its water stewardship efforts include:

• Nestlé Waters employs a team of natural resource managers, geologists and engineers who help manage and monitor the company's natural spring sources and the surrounding areas for long-term sustainability. Many of these natural resource managers serve as educational volunteers for Project WET activities.
• In California, Nestlé Waters employees volunteer their time to participate in watershed clean up events in their communities. Nestlé Waters' Arrowhead® Brand 100% Mountain Spring Water supports the Inland Empire Waterkeeper Crest to Coast initiative to help reduce litter in the Santa Ana River watershed.
• Also in California, Nestlé Waters' Arrowhead brand has made contributions to help improve water supplies for the community. In Rancho Cucamonga, Nestlé Waters has pledged $1 million to help the Cucamonga Valley Water District construct a groundwater treatment project within the region's groundwater basin. This project will leverage state-of-the-art water treatment systems to help remove historical agricultural contaminants and is expected to produce an additional 237 million gallons of clean drinking water in the area each year.
• In Tampa, FL, Nestlé Waters has joined with Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful to convene a wide range of stakeholders including the federal government, NGOs, local municipalities and businesses to form the Hillsborough River Trash Free Waterways Partnership. The partnership is addressing the issue of trash in our nation's waterways at the local level.
• In Washington, DC, Nestlé Waters has aligned with the Anacostia Riverkeeper to help resuscitate the Anacostia River, which has been plagued by pollution. It had been hailed as 'The Forgotten River,' but in recent years, private organizations, businesses as well as local and federal government entities have made a concerted effort to help restore the waterway to its natural pristine state.

"World Water Day reminds us that we can all be a steward of our water resources," said Switzer. "Working together with Project WET, as well as water organizations focused on water education, we can further the goal of ensuring that swimmable, fishable, drinkable water is available for generations to come."

About Project WET

Since 1984, the Project WET Foundation has been dedicated to reaching children, parents, teachers and community members with action-oriented water education to enable every child to understand and value water, ensuring a sustainable future. Project WET ("WET" stands for "Water Education for Teachers") is active in all 50 U.S. states and more than 65 countries worldwide. Learn more at www.projectwet.org.

About Nestlé Waters North America

Nestlé Waters North America provides people with an unrivaled portfolio of bottled waters for healthy hydration. Brands such as NESTLÉ® PURE LIFE®, POLAND SPRING®, PERRIER® and S.PELLEGRINO® have driven Nestlé Waters North America to be third largest non-alcoholic beverage company by volume in the U.S. Based in Stamford, Connecticut with 7,500 employees, Nestlé Waters is dedicated to continually improving sustainability across operations. In the areas of water use, packaging and energy use, the company's environmentally-minded practices have enabled it to decrease its carbon footprint, in spite of steadily rising sales volume. Such innovations as the introduction of recycled plastic (rPET) bottles and "lightweighting" of bottles have led to significant reductions in its use of natural resources.   As a natural resource company, Nestlé Waters sustainably manages about 40 spring sites, as well as nearly 14,000 acres of watershed as open space.   The company is also committed to creating shared value and being a good neighbor in the 140 communities where it operates in the U.S.