Nestlé are reducing water, pesticide and synthetic fertilizer usage to grow tomatoes locally for one of their well-known tomato sauces.
Solís is a well-known Spanish tomato sauce brand from Nestlé, and their ‘Solís Responsible’ initiative makes use of tomatoes grown with reduced water and chemical usage, which are also grown in close proximity to the processing plants. Since the initiative started in 2013, the company claims to have saved over 647 million liters of water, and have cut fertilizer and pesticide usage by 9% and 10% respectively.
Why you should care
Under IPCC scenarios of global climate change, Southern Europe is expected to be vulnerable to more intense and longer periods of drought in the future. Cutting water usage in agriculture is one way of proactively adapting to this potential threat, by reducing the vulnerability of the region to drought stress and food shortages.
How the Global Goals are addressed
Zero hunger
Water reduction strategies and reduced reliance on imported food both help to increase the resilience of European agriculture to climate change threats.
Clean water and sanitation
Reducing water consumption and the use of pesticides and fertilizers in agriculture helps to preserve and protect water resources.
Responsible consumption and production
Minimizing synthetic inputs and only using produce grown close to processing plants are both responsible production methods.
Nestlé Solis
The premium tomato products offered by ‘Solís’, by Nestlé Spain, have become a tradition in Spain and are closely associated with the tradition of packaging the products in carton packs from SIG Combibloc.
Global Goals addressed