Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, CEO, Nestlé

[Peter8Roberts]

Peter,

You are wrong. Water is a basic human need and pricing it as an asset controlled by corporations and government is very wrong.

[hoberha]

Things are no moving ahead -- see 2030 Water Resources Group on the net

[robertlewisvazquez]

Mr. Brabeck the day your company decided to close the very first chocolate plant that began the Nestles journey showed that your company has no respect or loyalty to the very humble beginnings from which it came from. Your company needs to reopen the plant in Fulton Ny and help our city. I'm sure that if you do this you will start to regain loyalty again.

[zillyberlin]

the only reason why nestle wants to privatize the water is that their big bosses r still not satisfied with the billions of dollers they already forced out of this planet

[Dreamland666]

Read Polar Institute files on Nestle and how this organisation collaborated and benefited from Nazi regime. Once a COLLABORATER, always a COLLABORATER

[abdullahalghafri]

In aflaj of Oman (traditional irrigation and water supply system) water used as commodity to generate funds for falaj maintenance and repair. The falaj economical systems evolved very smartly to encounter the environmental and social changes that happened in the past hundreds years. The falaj sustained because falaj owners always have a margin of flexibility to change the land or/and water use according to the change in the environment or the social setting of the village.

[abdullahalghafri]

Water rights in aflaj are rented periodicity to get cash for paying the wags of the personnel of falaj administration or maintaining the systems, such as cleaning the canals or the tunnels.

[abdullahalghafri]

Personally, I am with the idea to but costs for using water, because, the cheaper the water the more careless is the water users, BUT these costs should be proportional with the basic human needs, putting in mind that access to clean fresh water should be the right for every human being. I mean the water for drinking and cocking should be cheaper, or free, than the water used for leisure like swimming pools or Jacuzzi.

[annaLeonard333]

Some people commenting here have lots of complaints but no solutions. We need a system for managing these resources that works. Markets work in nations that have them for food, clothes, etc. We should use them for water too. If you want to help the world's poor, markets for such goods and the wealth markets generate is pretty much the only solution. Proper pricing will force conservation were needed and prevent overuse. It is very refreshing to see a CEO who understands those realities.

[gyaneman]

i like the way he ends his speech-giving a positive spin to what is otherwise a very depressing issue- linking success in water conservation to our species' survival for another 4500 years...

[stg213]

Knowing that the less fresh water is freely available, the higher the price of a nestle bottled water will be... what would any "responsible" corporation do with the water supply it administers ? :)

[stg213]

The less available fresh water there is the more profit for Nestle bottled water. What do you think a "responsible" corporation will do with the water supply it administers ? :)

[tricky23]

Ok, the basic idea is not so bad... the watter issue is important and it will be even more important in future.. but the idea of buying watter rights really makes me smile... Anyway.. I don´t like Nestle.. and I don´t like Mr. Brabeck-Lemanthe

[a6footkak]

every time a new nestle waters bottling facility is built. the plan is to get exclusive rights to a water resource, expand the company, dry out the water, and then shrink the company. this is what has happened at all of their locations. but they do pay me pretty well.

[funkysoulzh]

Charbax, I love that idea of turning sea water to drinkable water, wanna drain the oceans and destroy all the natural habitats that keep this earth alive??

[AlwaysReadTheLabel]

No wonder Nestlé is the most boycotted brand in the world!

[darnel7777]

Mr. Brabeck and his company Néstle wants to keep their enourmous power - the goal is 2 billion swiss francs per year till 2010. Makes 2'000'000'000 x 1.8 liters of water = 3.6 billion liters of water used by nestle - no wonder they want to be able to buy rights on water!

The only one being not sustainable here is you, nestle!

[fearinfaith]

I like Mr. Brabeck. I mean he's really 100 % for capitalist gain; however, he's right. It may be inhuman to declare water a right to life. However, it's definitely applicable to the fact that man has been greedy since the dawn of time. I'd rather have something with a price backed by a corporation.. Then the possible chance that it's polluted.. Competition works with the customer, it doesn't want to necessarily kill them.. unless it's cigarettes of course :d but that's a want, not a need.

[akir0n]

they advertise alcohol as social,

teaching kids drinking is cool.

they invent new maladies every year,

teaching taking pills is what you need.

they shorten the life period of light bulbs, increasing the sales.

the produce DDT (persistent organic pollutant) and kept on selling it to africa untill 2004, oulluting the produced food.

No, they won´t kill us. But they would if we were obliged to still buy their products after death...

[thescarl]

Finally somebody adressing the root of the matter. Water problems must be solved, and everybody, first and foremost governments, but also industry, farmers, consumers and all stakeholders around a watershed must play their role according to their responsibility.

Just not doing anything and whining over and over that water must be free for everybody, will definetly lead straight to disaster.

It's too easy to waste something that's free.

[akir0n]

i don´t agree. it is even easier waisting something when you have paid for it. because then you think you have the right to do it. Africans would never throw away their food aid packages. western people throw away food ever day.

[makezmuzic]

Sir, you obviously are aware of the shortage of fresh water. With that in mind I hope your company no longer encourages women in countries that don't have access to fresh water to use Nestles formulas, (that must be mixed with polluted water), instead of feeding their children breast milk?

[makezmuzic]

Excellent points, re; Global water issues. I've always wondered if water shortage will be what brings on WWIII. From what I've read, some of Israels neighbors have issues with the Israeli government daming up water resources.

[earlyonemorning]

nobody needs sugar

[CulturalEngineer]

A citizen's responsibility in an area is directly proportional to his abiliy to have an effect. Without improvement in mechanisms of meaningful involvement, we will see a CONTINUED growth in apathy, frustration and ultimately a resort to less healthy forms of expression.

[Charbax]

What is being done to turn sea and polluted water into drinkable water using renewable energy?

[Charbax]

Shall we pay for tap water? I hope that's not what you meant..

Can all water be made drinkable using some kinds of processing that could use for example solar and wind power?

What is being done to turn sea water and polluted water into drinkable water using renewable energy?

[hoberha]

Good question!

We must make sure that the poor get their essential need of water for free - in South Africa it is 6000 litres per family and month. But no free water for swimming pools. This guys should pay the full price.

There are already methods today to turn sea water into drinkable water -- but they are still extremely expensive. A smarter way: plants growing with salted water. Some exist already, some need to be improved with genetic modification. This frees water from agriculture.