Chapter 12, Problem 1EP

Nestlé is the world’s largest food producer and is headquartered in Switzerland. Its 2017 sustainability report is available at https://www.nestle.com/csv/downloads. Use the report to answer the following questions. Make sure to link to the report’s GRI index for a full explanation of the disclosures.

Required:

1. a. What sustainability issues are disclosed as most material to stakeholders? To Nestlé? Is there a general alignment between the two sets of materiality rankings?
2. b. How does the report’s information contribute to your understanding of the material issues that you identified above?
3. c. Which company provided external assurance services to Nestlé?
4. d. The external assurance of Nestlé’s sustainability report was more comprehensive than is the norm, especially given that many of the issues that the report addresses are global in scope. Identify highly material disclosures that were not externally assured. Why do you think that these were excluded from the assurance report’s scope?