Nestlé Waters North America, in partnership with SMUD, today announced agreements that will allow its facility in Sacramento, California to be powered by 100-percent renewable energy. The agreement is a major step towards parent company Nestlé’s global goal to transition to 100-percent renewable electricity use in their operations.

The clean, renewable electricity generated by SMUD will be used by Nestlé Waters North America to produce sustainably-sourced, healthy beverage options for Californians, including the company’s Arrowhead® Brand Mountain Spring Water and Nestlé® Pure Life® Purified Water. By transitioning its electrical power needs to renewable sources, the carbon footprint of the Nestlé Waters factory will be reduced by more than 21,279 metric tons of carbon dioxide over the next three years.

Nestlé Waters is the only food and beverage company in Sacramento to purchase 100 percent of its power from SMUD’s Large Commercial SolarSharesSM and Greenergy® programs. Large Commercial SolarShares allows large businesses in the Sacramento region to purchase solar energy directly from SMUD. Greenergy allows business customers to purchase up to 100 percent of their electricity from renewable resources such as wind, water, sun and biomass.

Speaking about this at the Milken Institute Global Conference today, Nestlé Waters North America’s Chief Sustainability Officer Nelson Switzer said: “As the State of California continues to lead on climate action and sustainability, Nestlé Waters is dedicated to playing our part to increase the use of clean, renewable energy. From Allentown, Pennsylvania to Sacramento, California, with the help of great partners like SMUD, we are rapidly making our way towards achieving our 100 percent renewable energy goal here in the U.S.”

This announcement comes on the heels of recent achievements on the other side of the country, where Nestlé Waters’ parent company announced a 15-year power purchase agreement that will provide approximately 80 percent of the electrical load for five Nestlé facilities in southeastern Pennsylvania, including the two Nestlé Waters plants in Allentown. With the addition of the solar energy from SMUD in California, over 20 percent of the electricity Nestlé uses in the U.S. will be from renewable sources in 2019.

“We’re proud to help Nestlé Waters North America make progress on their sustainability goals,” said SMUD Chief Customer Officer Nicole Howard. “We work hard every day to help businesses in the Sacramento region find energy solutions that fit their needs, and this is a great example of how those efforts can produce a win-win for a business, its customers and our community."

In total, the agreements with SMUD will allow Nestlé Waters to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions attributable to its operations in Sacramento by approximately 7,093 metric tons each year, the equivalent to removing more than 1,519 gas-powered vehicles from the road. The SolarShares agreement is also projected to save Nestlé Waters approximately $1.4 million in energy costs over the next 20 years. This supports the company’s long-held belief that supporting sustainable environmental initiatives makes good business sense.

To learn more about SMUD’s renewable energy solutions for businesses, visit smud.org/WeMeanBusiness.

Nestlé Commitment to Environmental Sustainability

Providing climate change leadership is just one of many societal commitments against which Nestlé SAreports its progress every year. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by becoming more efficient and switching to cleaner fuels, including renewable energy, is a core focus area for the company. By 2020, Nestlé aims to reduce its global GHG emissions (Scope 1 and 2) per ton of product in every product category to achieve an overall global reduction of 35 percent in its manufacturing operations versus a 2010 baseline. Nestlé has made significant progress against its environmental sustainability goals in the U.S., as reported in its Nestlé in the U.S. Creating Shared Value Report: