Justice Analysis of Nestlé's Water Extraction in Canada

The term recognition justice can refer to the marginalization of communities when it comes to identifying their stakeholders' rights, viewpoints and representation (Walker et al., 2022). When looking at the exploitation of communities, groups may be ignored or stigmatized when there is a lack of "recognition" (Walker et al., 2022). Whilst there may be an environmental injustice, their social justice is belittled. This marginilasation can often occur through environmental circumstances, whereby a major company is accused of not considering the opinions and viewpoints of local stakeholders when extracting stakeholders' local resources. In this portfolio piece, I will use the recognition justice analysis concept to identify the sustainability problem of unethical water extraction by Nestle in Canada, whilst focusing on the injustice of the indigenous communities that surround key extraction sites.  

I will use the concept of greenwashing to align the sustainability problem with the recognition justice of the local stakeholders.  Greenwashing could be deemed as a marketing technique. This can occur when integrating true environmental principles across the supply chain to help businesses take advantage of the rising need for corporate social responsibility and customer awareness, since being environmentally conscious may be a source of competitive advantage (Ines et al., 2023). Therefore, when exploring Nestles supply chain practices through the extraction of water in Canada, their greenwashing is transparent due to the effects on local eco systems and surrounding communities. 

Nestles' front page of their water sustainability states, “Water is key to all life and deeply connected to topics such as human rights, climate action, nature and regenerative agriculture” (Nestle, 2024). These bold words such as human rights and climate stand out as key moral principles, they use these phrases as a mask to hide behind. Nestle are draining millions of gallons of water from two Canadian cities using licenses that have expired, angering environmentalists who claim Nestlé is adding to plastic waste and receiving permission to profit from a public resource (Arsenault, 2017). By portraying their operations as “sustainable” they fail to take accountability for their irreversible mishap and further create a divide between their key stakeholders.  

The concept of recognition justice is evident in the analysis of their greenwashing practices, through the exclusion of the indigenous communities from the key decision-making processes it degrades their rights and their ecosystems. The chair for Council of Canadians explained how “local water is being used to provide profit for a company as opposed to being used for a local community” (Barlow, 2020). An environmental bill of rights was passed in Ontario in 1994, allowing the public to be involved in any decision pertaining to the land and water resources of the province (Davidson, 2020). Therefore, when the opportunity arose, over 66% of residents in the Ontario region signed to not renew Nestles contract. Shortly after this bill was presented, the conservative party took power, who are perceived as pro economy and business. Balkwill, the head of pressure group: Wellington water watchers, explained how local government are “being careful” and they’re trying to kick it down the road so they can have more favorable conditions to say yes to Nestlé” (Davidson, 2020). Here key factors of recognition justice are portrayed through their participation in decision making. Although the community could be described as transformative through their enabling of the Ontario Water Bill act, there is limitations of their recognition if the government can overrule. Making them far more representative whereby they might have seats on a committee but do not hold any decision-making power. Their concerns are listened to but not acted upon due to economic gain. 

Arsenault, C. 2017. Nestlé is extracting water from Canadian towns on expired permits. VICE. [Online]. [Accessed 1 November 2024]. Available from: https://www.vice.com/en/article/nestle-is-extracting-water-from-canadian-towns-on-expired-permits/#:~:text=The%20world%E2%80%99s%20largest%20bottled%20water%20company%20is%20sucking,a%20public%20resource%20and%20contributing%20to%20plastic%20pollution. 

Crane, A., Matten, D. and Spence, L. 2013. Corporate Social Responsibility in a Global Context. Corporate Social Responsibility: Readings and Cases in a Global Context. 

Davidson, N. 2020. The people versus Nestlé’s profiteering of community water. Sierra Club. [Online]. [Accessed 1 November 2024]. Available from: https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/people-versus-nestl-s-profiteering-community-water. 

NESTLE n.d. Water stewardship. Nestlé Global. [Online]. Available from: https://www.nestle.com/sustainability/water.