Nespresso Builds on 10 Years of Success of its AAA Sustainable Quality(TM) Program in Cooperation with the Rainforest Alliance, Announcing:

AsiaNet 53708

LAUSANNE, Switzerland and PARIS, July 16, 2013 /PRN=KYODO JBN/ --

   - Expansion of AAA Program in Africa with TechnoServe

   - AAA Farmer Future Program with Fairtrade International and Colombian

     farmer cooperatives

   - Expansion of AAA Program and agro-forestry program with the Rainforest

     Alliance

    Global leaders in sustainability and long-time brand ambassador George

Clooney joined Nespresso, as part of the company's first Sustainability

Advisory Board, to announce major new initiatives in the areas of farmer

welfare and environmental stewardship.

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130716/629097 )

    The Nespresso Sustainability Advisory Board (NSAB) is comprised of experts

and thought leaders in the area of sustainability. It has been established to

solicit views and provide insight and recommendations to enhance Nespresso's

long term sustainability strategy and to serve as a base for additional

partnerships on new initiatives. The official formation of the board coincides

with the 10th anniversary of the company's AAA Sustainable Quality(TM) Program, a

cornerstone of the company's sustainability efforts.

    For 10 years, Nespresso has worked with the Rainforest Alliance and other

key partners on the AAA Program, a unique approach that combines a focus on

quality and sustainability to produce benefits for farmers and their

communities. The program is producing concrete results on the ground in coffee

growing communities. A study performed by Colombian research institute CRECE,

demonstrates significantly higher levels of environmental, economic and social

performance for AAA farms versus non-AAA farms. The program is one part of the

company's overall approach to Creating Shared Value and establishes a strong

model for collaborative partnerships to drive concrete impacts in

sustainability.

    "As we mark ten years of the AAA Program, I am proud to have the

opportunity to work with these renowned leaders in environmental and social

sustainability in order to strengthen our programs and develop new and

impactful initiatives to create shared value for coffee farmers," said

Jean-Marc Duvoisin, CEO of Nestle Nespresso. "While we have come a long way

over the past ten years, we are driven by the need to continue to move forward.

The insight and independent perspectives brought by these thought leaders will

help advance our sustainability efforts and will ensure that we remain focused

on initiatives that will have a positive overall impact on the environment and

social aspects of our value chain."

    Significant new partnerships to drive sustainability for coffee farmers

    Expansion of AAA Program in Africa with TechnoServe

    At the inaugural NSAB meeting in Lausanne, Mr. Duvoisin was joined by

George Clooney and TechnoServe President and CEO, Bruce McNamer to announce two

major new initiatives in Africa: the expansion of the AAA Program in Ethiopia

and Kenya and a program to re-establish coffee supply from South Sudan.

    In Ethiopia and Kenya, Nespresso will expand the AAA Program to include

more smallholder coffee farmers and will partner with local governments and

TechnoServe to improve coffee sustainability at farm level. The company will

also launch community development programs that address key socio-economic

challenges in the coffee growing communities and support farmer welfare. The

partners expect to double the amount of coffee sourced from the region to

10,000 tons by 2020 through the extension of the program to smallholder

farmers. This significant expansion of the AAA Program will build upon the

strong success of the program in Latin America and its recent expansion to

India. Currently, over 56,000 farmers are part of the AAA Program and the

company is sourcing approximately 80% of its coffee from AAA farms.

    The South Sudan project, in cooperation with TechnoServe and George

Clooney, will revive high quality coffee production in the country to

contribute to economic development and create supply. It is expected that

thousands of smallholder farmers will benefit from the initiative. As part of

the program, Nespresso plans to be the first company to offer coffee from the

country following its independence.

    AAA Farmer Future Program with Fairtrade International and Colombian farmer

cooperatives

    Mr. Duvoisin also joined with Fairtrade International CEO Harriet Lamb and

representatives of five Fairtrade certified cooperatives in Caldas, Colombia to

announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to pilot the AAA

Farmer Future Program. The program responds to the need of farmers to guard

against the risks of price volatility and other factors contributing to

instability in the sector. Specifically, the program aims to introduce social

welfare provisions to benefit farmers and their families, including health and

accident coverage and retirement planning. As part of the initiative, Nespresso

will market coffee from the AAA farmer cooperatives in the region and certified

Fairtrade.

    Expansion of AAA Program and agro-forestry initiatives with the Rainforest

Alliance

    Nespresso also announced continued investment in bringing all its farmers

into the AAA Program and increasing the number of farmers who obtain Rainforest

Alliance certification, building on the strong results of the Program over the

past 10 years. In addition, it announced an expansion of its agro-forestry

program, in partnership with the Rainforest Alliance and Pur Projet, to

optimise the carbon footprint of coffee farming. Nespresso has reduced its

carbon footprint per cup by 20% since 2009. Coffee agriculture remains an area

of opportunity to further optimise carbon impacts. The program will help

farmers step up their investment in agro-forestry and will seek to create

carbon credits and drive new revenue streams.

    Board Member Perspectives

    "As we mark 10 years of collaboration between Nespresso and the Rainforest

Alliance, I am pleased to be a part of the Nespresso Sustainability Advisory

Board," said Tensie Whelan, President of the Rainforest Alliance. "The AAA

Program, built together with the Rainforest Alliance and the Sustainable

Agriculture Network, is one of the most rigorous and comprehensive programmes

in the coffee industry, with increased farmer net income and significantly

improved water quality, waste management and reforestation. We believe that the

expansion of the coffee farming agro-forestry program that we are jointly

developing with Nespresso, will build on the strong results demonstrated by the

AAA Program and will be an important new approach to supporting farmer

livelihoods, protecting the natural resources on which they depend and

safeguarding the planet for all of us."

    "I am excited for the opportunity to bring together my role as an

ambassador for Nespresso and an advocate for a better future for the people of

South Sudan," said George Clooney. "This program will help farmers and their

families secure their future by building new sources of sustainable business in

this region. It will provide much-needed income and security for thousands of

farmers and their families living in coffee communities and has the potential

to play an important role in helping to diversify the economic base in the

country."

    "We are excited to be joining together with Nespresso to address the very

real issues and risks that coffee farmers face on a daily basis," said Harriet

Lamb, President of Fairtrade International. "Farmers are exposed to many risks,

including low productivity, price volatility and fluctuations in exchange

rates. These factors can severely impact their livelihoods. This unique pilot

project will seek to provide the security farmers need to provide for their

families and invest in their future."

    Nespresso Sustainability Advisory Board Members

    Joining Nespresso and Nestle; representatives for the inaugural NSAB meeting

were Peter Bakker, President World Business Council for Sustainable

Development; George Clooney; Polly Courtice, Director of the University of

Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership (CPSL); Luis Genaro Mun;oz,

President Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC); Daniel Katz, Chairman and

Founder of the Rainforest Alliance; Harriet Lamb, CEO  Fairtrade International;

Tristan Lecomte, Co-founder, Pur Projet; Julia Marton-Lefevre, CEO

International Union for the Conservation of Nature; Bruce McNamer, President &

CEO, TechnoServe; Lawrence Pratt, Director of the Latin American Center for

Competitiveness and Sustainable Development (CLACDS) at INCAE Business School;

Reza, National Geographic photographer, eyewitness, creator of the Soul of

Coffee photo exhibition; Paul Rice, President & CEO,  Fair Trade USA; Auret Van

Heerden, President & CEO,  Fair Labor Association; and Tensie Whelan, President

of long-time Nespresso sustainability partner the Rainforest Alliance.

    Additional information on each initiative referenced above is available on

the Nespresso internet site, in the "Sustainability Advisory Board" section at

http://www.presseportal.ch/go2/sustainability-advisory-board

    About Nestle Nespresso SA

    Nestle Nespresso SA is the pioneer and reference for highest-quality

portioned premium coffee. Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, Nespresso

operates in almost 60 countries and has more than 8,000 employees. In 2012, it

operated a global retail network of 300 exclusive boutiques.

http://www.presseportal.ch/go2/nestle-nespresso

    Contact

    Diane Duperret

    Nestle Nespresso SA

    Corporate PR Manager

    diane.duperret@nespresso.com

    T: +41-21-796-9289.

    SOURCE: Nestle Nespresso SA