Nestle products include baby food, medicinal products, mineral water, breakfast cereals, coffee and tea, confectionery, dairy, ice cream, frozen food, pet food and snacks. Around 29 Nestle brands generate annual sales in excess of CHF 1 billion (approx. USD 1.1 billion dollars), those brands include Nespresso, Nescafe, Kit Kat, Smarties, Nesquik, Stouffers, Vittel and Maggi. Nestle has 447 factories, operates in 189 countries and employs around 339,000 people. It is one of the major shareholders of L’Oreal, the world’s largest cosmetics company.

Recently, the company said that they have hired London Stock Exchange Group’s (LSEG) finance chief Anna Manz as its new Chief Financial Officer. Anna Manz will replace Francois-Xavier Roger, who the company stated is stepping down to “pursue new professional challenges” after eight years in the position.

“On behalf of our Board of Directors and our Executive Board, I would like to offer our sincere thanks to Francois. He has supported us in shaping and implementing our value creation strategy and has helped steer Nestle through a very turbulent macroeconomic environment over the last three years. We wish him all the best for his next endeavours. At the same time, we are thrilled to welcome Anna Manz to Nestle. Anna Manz has spent her career growing businesses and improving operational efficiencies. Her deep knowledge of the consumer goods industry, combined with her extensive experience across many corporate functions, make her uniquely positioned to help lead Nestlé into its next phase of value creation,” Mark Schneider, CEO of Nestle said.

Who is Anna Manz?
• Anna Manz was born and brought up in London, England, United Kingdom
• She completed her schooling at Withington Girls’ School and her bachelor’s and master’s in Chemistry from the University of Oxford
• According to her LinkedIn profile, in 1997, Anna Manz started working for Unilever Company as a Trainee
• In 2004, she joined Diageo, a British multinational alcoholic beverage company and spent 17 years handling a number of senior finance roles, including Chief Strategy Officer and member of the Executive Committee, Finance Director of Spirits North America, Group Treasurer, and Finance Director Asia Pacific
• From the year 2016 to 2020, Anna Manz was Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director of Johnson Matthey, leading its Finance, Procurement and IT functions
• She was appointed Chief Financial Officer of London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) and joined the Board of LSEG plc. as a Director in November 2020, bringing significant consumer, financial and strategic experience to the Group
• Anna Manz is also a Non-Executive Director at ITV, a British media company that holds 13 of the 15 regional television licences
• In May 2023, Nestle appointed her as Chief Financial Officer
• In 2022, Anna Manz was shortlisted for the Women in Finance Awards as CFO of the Year
• According to the London Stock Exchange Group, as the CFO, Anna Manz received a salary of £650,000

Anna Manz has leadership responsibilities in AstraZeneca too

In April 2023, AstraZeneca PLC, a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company announced that Anna Manz has been appointed as a Non-Executive Director and member of the Audit Committee which will be effective from September of this year.

AstraZeneca Chairman Michel Demare said, “We are delighted to welcome Anna to the AstraZeneca Board. She brings extensive cross-sector business skills and knowledge to the Board, having held international roles in North America and Asia Pacific and served as an executive and non-executive in large, listed companies. Anna’s significant financial and strategic leadership experience, including in areas such as risk, treasury and accounting, will enable her to fully contribute to the work of our Audit Committee.”

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According to the Press Release, the custom-designed distribution center, scheduled for completion in 2020, will feature advanced sorting systems and robotics alongside state-of-the-art automation co-developed with Swisslog Logistics Automation. The site’s digital ecosystem will integrate predictive data and intelligent machines to deliver one of the most advanced distribution management centers in the world, giving consumers faster, more efficient access to KITKAT, MAGGI, NESCAFÉ and other much-loved Nestlé brands.

The XPO-owned facility will be strategically located in the Midlands to benefit from direct access to the M1 motorway for road transport, the East Midlands Airport for cargo flights, and an onsite rail freight terminal with direct access to the major UK ports of Southampton, Felixstowe, London Gateway and the Channel Tunnel.

The facility will be sited on man-made plateaus, with landscaping to minimise the visual impact to nearby settlements. Additional sustainability measures include energy-saving LED lighting, environmentally friendly ammonia refrigeration, air source heat pumps for administration areas and rainwater harvesting.

Nestlé Director of Supply Chain David Hix, said: “We are thrilled to be working with XPO Logistics to build a flagship digital warehouse and technology laboratory at the East Midlands Gateway Logistics Park. This is a world-first investment for Nestlé that builds on a century and a half of proud history in this country. Our partnership with XPO will encourage innovation and experimentation in our UK logistics operations and help futureproof our business. We will be able to be even more responsive for our customers across our brands, which include some of the most recognisable in the world.”

Richard Cawston, Managing Director, Supply Chain, XPO Logistics Europe, said: “Nestlé has entrusted XPO with the digital architecture for its future vision. Together, we will create limitless opportunities to explore new technologies in a state-of-the-art logistics environment. The new East Midlands center will operate as both a think tank and a launch pad for XPO innovations, with far-reaching impacts on the way business is done. We look forward to an inventive collaboration with Nestlé.”

Andrew Bridgen, MP for North West Leicestershire, said: “This is excellent news for North West Leicestershire and the wider East Midlands economy. That two global giants – Nestlé and XPO – should choose to locate their new state-of-the-art, environmentally sustainable facility here shows that this region is a great place for businesses to invest. It’s very positive for the development of our local economy.”

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For those who may not know, natural capital can be defined as the stock of our natural resources. This includes plants, animals, air, water, soils, minerals, all of which combine to yield a flow of benefits to people on earth. They also benefit business.

On November 27, hundreds of people from across the globe, including foreign government representatives, senior figures from NGOs, international agencies, and leading businesses, will gather at the Forum to highlight the importance of natural capital across the world and the need for it to be managed as a vital asset.

A key focus will be on the economic importance of natural capital for business. All companies impact and depend on natural capital for their continued success.

The Natural Capital Protocol provides a standardised framework to identify, measure, and value impacts and dependencies on natural capital. It was developed to enable business to understand how to assess risks and opportunities related to the value from our land and seas.

We’re delighted to have led the development of the Protocol on behalf of the Natural Capital Coalition. And we’re continuing to go further.

A ‘sister’ approach that the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has been developing is focused on assessing the value of social capital — the resources and relationships provided by people and society — and how this needs to be factored in, alongside natural capital, as key a financial indicator for businesses.

The first version of the Social Capital Protocol will be open for consultation in 2018.

Beyond relying on traditional models to gauge their value, companies are increasingly seeing the strong business case for measuring and valuing how they impact and depend on natural and social capital.

In doing so, they can understand the ‘true’ value – relative importance, worth or usefulness – of their business activities and how their actions affect their products, employees, water and land use, GHG emissions, and more.

By having an accurate understanding of their ‘true’ value, companies are able to determine their and long-term viability, including how effectively managing natural and social capital underpins sustainable performance.

Here are some examples:

One company applying natural and social capital protocols to their strategy is Nestlé. Over the last three years, the Swiss-based multi-national has been carrying out natural capital valuations across its global operations. Take, for example Nestlé’s tomato sauce production facility in Spain: based on previous experiences to improve water efficiency and preserve biodiversity, their goal was to quantify the creation of shared value across the production cycle — from raw materials to product’s end of life and provide new insights to guide future work.

Our study looked at areas such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, water consumption, land use and pollution. The impact valuation methodology helped them understand how different drivers in tomato sauce production could be influenced to have positive effects.

The findings enabled Nestlé to prioritise short and medium-term investments, particularly to focus upon other ingredients and packaging to reduce harmful impacts, protect the natural capital resources their business relies on and cut production costs.

Germany-based BASF, the largest chemical producer in the world, is also highly committed to putting natural and social capital considerations at the heart of determining its true value, an approach which is also financially benefitting its business in the process.

Based on its assessments since 2013, BASF has seen clear evidence of sustainable growth by measuring the impact of business activities on the environment and society in monetary terms.

This has given the company a new perspective on the financial aspects of sustainability performance. By valuing the externalities of its business in monetary terms, BASF has gained new insights in the potential risk exposures and the opportunities along its value chains. This method of analysing and demonstrating business performance to stakeholders is also strengthening the company’s licence to operate.

Argos is also applying natural and social capital to its financial modelling and its strategic thinking, and is already seeing positive results. As a global manufacturing company, dealing in polymers and petrochemicals, agricultural products and commodities, its business operations are inextricably linked to natural resources.
As part of its strategic management and to monitor progress towards its stated purpose ‘to build dreams that foster development and change lives’, Argos is firmly committed to measuring its environmental, social and economic impacts on society.

As such, the company developed its Value Added Statement. This tool allows Argos to assess and manage its main operational externalities and provide insights on how it can deliver value to society. Notably, from a financial perspective, this approach has helped inform and improve business decision-making, manage risks more accurately and deliver greater transparency to stakeholders.

Because of this, Argos was able to determine a clear monetary value on its natural and social capital impact. Using this methodology, the company calculated a net value added to society of over $929m in 2016, a 10 per cent increase from the previous year. Meanwhile, its operational environmental effects accounted for a net cost to society of $287.5m, two per cent lower than 2015. These figures reflect Argos’s significant annual decreases in societal costs from GHG emissions, water consumption and impacts on biodiversity.

This provides a striking example of how factors, often considered to be intangible, can be effectively evaluated and tracked. With these issues becoming an increasingly important consideration for global investors, this approach is beneficial in sustainability terms, and it’s essential for the long-term progress of a business.

As we’ve seen in the above examples, putting natural capital and social capital at the heart of a company’s decision-making and performance monitoring processes gives businesses many advantages. These include reduced volatility in supply chains, de-risking of regulatory compliance and easier access to finance.

Indeed, a growing number of major lenders are now insisting that companies understand and demonstrate nonfinancial risks before they will be considered for finance.

Excellent progress is being made across the corporate world and we look forward to getting more businesses on board. It is important that we continue to demonstrate the positive financial impact that results from companies making such commitments, achievements we will be proudly highlighting at this month’s World Forum event.

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