Twitter feeds have gone off the hook with posts about Nestle.
A unique view from a religious source.
The multi-product line company has been bottling water from several reserves in California while residents in the area are receiving rations due to the severe drought over this past year. There has been backlash as shown on social media.
Little do they know, Nestle claims they support water conservation education programs; to me, this is controversial. Nestle’s actions have a negative impact towards their brand reputation as they prove to be a company that bends core values to meet sales goals through unethical means.
I believe that when the nature of the company is more important than its brand and core values, it results in a tarnished reputation. I find it hard to see into the minds of decision makers at Nestle. They may have foreseen the criticism they would receive from their actions; yet still chose to pursue them. Financials aside, I wonder what Nestle’s reputation would be today if they completely stopped bottling water during the drought. After all, they have many other streams of revenue ranging from candy bars to baby formulas.
You don’t see angry tweets about chocolate bars being sold during the drought.
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References:
- “About Us.” Nestle, n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2015. <http://www.nestle.com/aboutus>.
- Bacher, Dan. “Nestle Continues Stealing World’s Water During Drought.” MintPress News. Indy Media, 20 Mar. 2015. Web. 16 Sept. 2015. <http://www.mintpressnews.com/nestle-continues-stealing-worlds-water-during-drought/203544/>.
- Brodwin, Erin. “People Are Furious That Nestle Is Still Bottling and Selling California’s Water in the Middle of the Drought.” Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 10 Apr. 2015. Web. 16 Sept. 2015. <http://www.businessinsider.com/nestle-is-bottling-water-from-california-2015-4>.
- “This Bottled Water Company” SumOfUs. Sum Of Us, n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2015. <http://action.sumofus.org/a/nestle-water-ontario/4/2/?sub=homepage>.