The tour of the factory was held live – online, adhering to the preventative measures and social distancing prescribed by the Government of the Republic of Serbia. Tanja Žigić, director of the Surčin factory, led those in virtual attendance through the factory, the production plant and the recycling yard.

Tanja Žigić highlighted the infrastructure and the method of working that has led to a reduction in the consumption of all the most important factors needed in production. The company invested 30,000 euros in LED lighting, thereby reducing the consumption of electricity by as much as 20 per cent. By reducing the dimensions of packaging material, paper consumption has been reduced by as much as 60 tonnes per year, and along with it negative emissions of carbon dioxide. The largest investment locally is 1.2 million euros and relates to the modern treatment of wastewater, which enabled water consumption to be reduced by 50,000 cubic metres annually. Separation at source removes as much as 80 per cent of municipal waste that’s disposed of in specially separated recycling bins, which are reused in production after recycling, either as bio fuel or for some other purposes.

“Apart from sustainable production and environmental protection efforts, Nestlé is also committed to raising awareness about the importance of this topic, so recently the first ecological online education of young people #NestléProtectsNature was conducted, in the scope of which young people addressed daily challenges in saving water and electricity and using ecological packaging instead of plastic,” said Žigić.

Apart from sustainable production and environmental protection efforts, Nestlé is also committed to raising awareness about the importance of this topic, so recently the first ecological online education of young people #NestléProtectsNature was conducted, in the scope of which young people addressed daily challenges in saving water and electricity and using ecological packaging instead of plastic

Attendees were also addressed by Marian Marinov, Nestlé’s Head of Finance & Control for the Southeast European market. He spoke about the year that’s coming to an end, the challenges that everyone has faced and the timely reactions of the company, emphasising that the Nestlé factory in Surčin is part of the Nestlé operating system and is tasked with behaving responsibly towards the environment. Marinov also used this occasion to announce his departure from the position of director of Nestlé Serbia and introduce Marjana Davidović, who succeeded him in that position as of 1st November.

Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Aleksandar Bogićević also noted that achieving zero environmental impact is extremely important for the community, emphasising that Nestlé is an excellent example of a model that is viewed as the backbone of the development of the food industry.

Stevan Šuša, President of the City Municipality of Surčin, stated that Nestlé pays special attention to creating new values and preserving old ones in our local community. The successful recycling process that gives Nestlé a sense of pride was achieved in cooperation with Sekopak, the leading operator in the system of packaging waste management in Serbia, which was further explained Sekopak Operations Manager Ivana Pavlović.